Agents believe Xander Bogaerts will make 'many tens of millions' more than Boston's final offer
According to ESPN's Buster Olney, Xander Bogaerts, one of the premiere free agent shortstops available this offseason, will sign for "tens of millions of dollars more" than the Boston Red Sox's final offer.
Per Olney, agents not representing Bogaerts speculate that the shortstop will do "very well" on the open market.
They also believe Bogaerts will eventually ink a contract for significantly more money than Boston offered in the spring.
In April, Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported that the Red Sox made Bogaerts an offer that would've paid him around $90M. That number is far below the figures bandied about in the rumor mill.
The Athletic's Jim Bowden, a former MLB general manager, predicts Bogaerts will sign a seven years, $196M contract with a new team.
If that information wasn't enough to burst the Red Sox's bubble, three teams have reportedly told longtime MLB writer and insider Peter Gammons that Bogaerts has "severed Boston ties and won't be going back."
Bogaerts opted out of his six-year, $120M contract in November, becoming a free agent. Once the offseason began, the Philadelphia Phillies emerged as a serious suitor, rumored to have "real interest" in the shortstop.
Bogaerts does have ties with the Phillies' president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, who previously held the same position in Boston.
The 30-year-old made his second consecutive All-Star appearance in 2022, batting .307/.377/.456 with 15 home runs and 73 RBI.
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