The Boston Red Sox might still have Xander Bogaerts on their team if they approached contract negotiations a little differently.
Appearing this week on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast, the new San Diego Padres shortstop revealed that a lousy contract offer from the Red Sox set the stage for him leaving in free agency this offseason.
“I remember in spring training, [agent] Scott [Boras] approached me about an extension offer, and I was like, ‘Alright, let’s see what’s going on,'” said Bogaerts. “When he came back with the offer it was like, ‘Oh s–t, this is pretty rough.’ It was a little disappointing, to be honest.
“That kind of set the stage [for me leaving]. I was looking forward to seeing what they would offer, and once that offer came out, it was surprising. They probably had another vision for the team. Maybe they didn’t expect for me to get what I got in the end. Maybe they valued me a little different. Free agency is a whole different ballgame.”
Bogaerts, who had been with the Red Sox for his entire 10-season career to that point, did also say that Boston made him an improved contract offer in the winter. However, Bogaerts said it was only a “little” improvement over the previous one. Bogaerts wound up signing with the Padres on an 11-year deal worth massive money.
A couple of months ago, we heard a report that the Red Sox had indeed given Bogaerts a disrespectful offer. Now Bogaerts himself appears to confirm just as much.
The Red Sox haven’t been total tightwads this offseason, signing All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers to a $331 million extension. Stil, they are not spending nearly as much as a big-market team that wants to contend should be, and even their fans are expressing serious displeasure.
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