The Boston Red Sox are hoping to lock down Rafael Devers on a long-term contract extension, but it appears their early efforts in doing so have come up short. According to Hector Gomez, Boston's latest offer to Devers was considered by the third baseman's camp to be beneath his value, prompting them to reject the deal. Instead of working out a new contract now, Devers plans to focus on the 2022 season and try to raise his value with his play on the field ahead of his final year of arbitration.
Signing Devers to a new deal needs to be a priority for the Red Sox, but it seems they fumbled their latest offer and came in well below the star third baseman's self-perceived value. Rather than accept a lowball offer from the organization, Devers will be aiming to land himself even more money with his play on the field throughout the regular season.
He's coming off an incredible 2021 campaign that saw him slash .279/.352/.538 with 38 home runs and 113 RBI. Production similar to that in 2022 would likely result in him further increasing his already sky-high value, forcing the Red Sox to pony up even more money if they want to keep him in town.
At just 25 years old, Devers has proven to be one of the best young players in baseball and a franchise cornerstone for the Red Sox. He'll still have one more year of arbitration before hitting unrestricted free agency in 2024. The Red Sox are hoping it doesn't come to that as they plan out their next steps when it comes to locking down the Dominican Republic native.
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