The Boston Red Sox lost Xander Bogaerts this offseason, dooming their franchise and showing that their days as a contender are truly over. The All-Star joined the San Diego Padres and got paid handsomely, which Boston was unwilling to do.

According to Joon Lee of ESPN, Bogaerts saw the contract extension offer from the Red Sox as “a slap” after being a key part of the team for so long. Lee reports that Bogaerts would have “strongly considered” a contract similar to the one the Red Sox signed Trevor Story to last offseason (six years, $140 million) but instead was offered just $90 million over four seasons.

The Red Sox put together a surprising run to the ALCS in 2021 after trading Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers. But after losing Bogaerts (and J.D. Martinez) and the possibility of losing Rafael Devers still in play, they are running out of time to stay afloat in a super competitive AL East. After finishing last in the division last season, they seem to be on their way back to the basement in 2023 despite signing new pieces like Justin Turner, Kenley Jansen, Masataka Yoshida, Chris Martin and Joely Rodriguez.

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Naoyuki Uwasaa as a silhouette. Alex Cora.

Ryan Bologna ·

Xander Bogaerts signed a contract with $280 million over 11 years with the Padres, who are going all the way in to compete for a World Series. Meanwhile, the Red Sox's unwillingness to pay up for premium talent has bitten them again. Failing to lock Devers into a contract extension would be very bad news.