The Rafael Devers dilemma
After losing Xander Bogaerts, the Chaim Bloom-led Red Sox front office faces a potentially franchise-altering decision with its star third baseman.
It didn’t have to come to this with Xander Bogaerts.
If the Red Sox stepped up with a legitimate offer last offseason, it’s safe to say they wouldn’t have had to watch their homegrown shortstop don a Padres uniform one year later. Instead, they’re left with a giant void on the left side of their infield and a fanbase that has just about had it with their incompetence.
While Bogaerts’ departure left fans frustrated, it didn’t catch them off guard. The strong possibility resided in the back of their minds throughout the 2022 season. It became all too real when Bogaerts waved to the Fenway Park crowd as he exited the final game of the year. Chaim Bloom calling Bogaerts the team’s “No. 1 priority” entering free agency only inspired false hope. The Red Sox made their bed months earlier in spring training.
First, it was Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi. Now, Xander Bogaerts. Next, Rafael Devers.
In addition to question marks at shortstop and several other parts of the roster, the Red Sox have a Devers dilemma. The star third baseman, who just turned 26 in October, is in the same boat his best friend Bogaerts was in last year. He’ll become a free agent next offseason if the Red Sox don’t lock him up on an extension before then.
It certainly looks like we’re headed down the same path with Devers as we did with Bogaerts. What motivation would Devers have to sign long-term with Boston even if he gets a reasonable offer? Bogaerts just showed him how much can be made on the open market. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that a 27-year-old Devers could demand somewhere around $400 million next offseason based on what players received over the last month. The thought of this Red Sox front office matching that figure is laughable.
If Devers isn’t signed by Opening Day, he’s as good as gone. As of today, this Red Sox team isn’t built to contend. That makes Devers a prime trade candidate in July.
What’s more likely? Option A: Bloom gives Devers an offer he can’t refuse, or Option B: Bloom trades Devers for several top prospects at the deadline. I lean so much toward Option B that I’m practically falling over.
Much can change over the next three months. The Red Sox can change the narrative by signing star shortstop Carlos Correa and top that off with the signing of a reliable starting pitcher. That could be enough to persuade Devers that this team has a vision and that it’s to be taken seriously in 2023 and beyond. The Masataka Yoshida, Kenley Jansen, and Chris Martin deals were encouraging signs before the Bogaerts news destroyed all of that shortlived optimism.
If no other major moves are made, what good reason does Devers have to stay? This Red Sox regime hasn’t hidden how it feels about its homegrown stars. Devers has witnessed their indifference first-hand throughout his young career. He just watched it all unfold with his closest friend on the team.
How the Devers dilemma is handled by the front office and ownership will have ripple effects far beyond the club’s on-field performance. Once-loyal fans will reach their breaking point. Players will look at the Red Sox as an organization that either doesn’t know what it’s doing, or that simply doesn’t care. Or both. Hell, they might already be looking at them that way.
This Red Sox leadership group can pull the "Mookie didn’t want to be in Boston” card. They can scoff at the Padres’ 11-year, $280 million deal for Bogaerts. There is no reasonable excuse for not extending Devers unless he decides to treat them the same way they’ve treated his homegrown superstar teammates these last few years.
In that case, could you really blame him?