As All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers celebrated his 26th birthday in his native Dominican Republic, reports began to come out late Monday night that Boston Red Sox execs were in town. What exactly they were doing with "Raffy" — whether it be a business trip or simply for pleasure — appears to be up for debate depending on which reports you choose to believe.
Can confirm. The Red Sox's offer is expected to nearly double the initial offer we reported on April 6, which was rejected by Rafael Devers. As reported by @YancenPujols, there's talk of a contract extension of at least 7 guaranteed years. https://t.co/MawemgGVKI
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) October 25, 2022
The Red Sox are serious about their desire to extend Devers and I do believe they’ll be aggressive on that front before Opening Day. But a source says no substantive talks since spring training. As @YancenPujols reported, they want to get it done.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) October 25, 2022
Checked with multiple sources to see if anything is cooking on the Devers extension front today. The answer: Just birthday cake. (He turned 26 today.) To the best of my knowledge, there have been no substantively meaningful discussions of an extension, though (Cont)
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) October 25, 2022
Cotillo further reported on Tuesday morning that it was Boston's assistant general manager Eddie Romero specifically who was in the Dominican Republic for the meeting with Devers, but it was described more as a "'regular check-in'/birthday visit than anything else."
The two-time All-Star and one-time Silver Slugger Award winner finished another big 2022 campaign with 27 home runs, 88 RBI, 42 doubles and a .295/.358/.521 slash line.
It was reported in mid-July that the Red Sox identified Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson's eight-year, $168 million deal that he agreed to last offseason as a "basis for discussions" with Devers. However, in April, when the team reportedly offered the man at the hot corner a new contract worth approximately $200 million, Devers said he wanted a deal worth over $300 million.
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