Red Sox’s CBO Chaim Bloom: Signing All-Star Xander Bogaerts a top priority this offseason

The 2022 season ended in disappointment for the Boston Red Sox, who finished 78-84, dead last in the American League East Division. 

While three division rivals prepare for the MLB postseason, the Red Sox look ahead toward a critical offseason. Two All-Stars, third baseman Rafael Devers and shortstop Xander Bogaerts, will likely require lucrative long-term deals this winter to stay in Boston. 

Devers is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility and is a year away from free agency. At the same time, it's widely believed that Bogaerts will opt out of the last three years of a six-year, $120 million contract and hit the free agent market. 

Speaking with the media at the Red Sox's end-of-season press conference on Thursday, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said signing Bogaerts is the team's number one priority this offseason. 

"Our position hasn't changed on that," Bloom said. "I've said this before, but nothing I say really matters unless there's a deal. But our position has been the same, that we want to keep him here for a long time and we want him here on a deal that we're going to look back on and say, 'This was great for everybody.'"

Bloom said that while the two sides failed to find common ground on a deal ahead of the 2022 season, the team is committed to getting a new contract done with Bogaerts, adding that the process starts "right away." 

Back in April, Bogaerts said negotiations "just didn't work out" after the Red Sox reportedly offered the shortstop a one-year extension. 

ESPN's Buster Olney speculated in August that Bogaerts might be on his way out of Boston, adding he can likely get a better deal elsewhere. 

Bogaerts earned his fourth-career All-Star nod in 2022, batting .307/.377/.456 with 15 home runs and 73 RBI over 150 games for the Red Sox.