Brock Holt returns
The clues when it comes to Rafael Devers' future keep piling up.
This is what we know regarding the contractural future of the Red Sox third baseman, who will be eligible for free agency after the 2023 season ...
- Devers told WEEI.com in spring training that prior to his late March negotiations with the Red Sox this year, he had never been approached by the team regarding a contract extension.
- He is digging in on the approach of not talking contract with the Red Sox during the season.
- Devers told MassLive Friday that his hope remains to stay with the Red Sox. "If that (staying in Boston) can happen, that would be great. We know the type of city Boston is. If it were up to me, I’d stay here my whole career. It’s a great city to play for, great fans, great ballpark. Everything that involves the organization is great so I hope I can finish my career here because that’s what I want."
- Chaim Bloom, appearing on the Greg Hill Show earlier this season, reiterated that the two sides weren't going to "align" when it came to coming to an agreement.
So, after everything that has transpired thus far, should Red Sox possess much optimism when it comes to locking in Devers long-term? Appearing on the Red Sox Network Pregame Show with Brian Barrett, ESPN's Buster Olney doesn't believe so.
"Based on what we’ve seen in the last three years, I can’t envision this at the moment because it doesn’t feel like the Red Sox are necessarily prepared to step out," Olney said of coming to terms with Devers. "It’s almost like you can draw a line in the sand before Chris Sale’s contract and after Chris Sale’s contract. Before Chris Sale’s contract they were building a huge payroll, they spent aggressively on him and they spent aggressively on other players and maybe there was a realization - because I know people in the industry were shocked they gave him the deal they gave him because of the arm issues that he had prior to that - maybe that changed the perspective of ownership of how they handled these situations.
"I think Devers contract … If you look at the type of player that he is, the age that he is, I think you’re looking at a $300 million contract and we have no indication that the Red Sox are going to be willing to go that far given how they handled Mookie Betts and given how they handled Xander in his negotiations."
The Sale deal Olney referenced was an extension given to the starting pitcher at the end of the 2019 spring training, paying him five years, $145 million with a team option for 2025. It was extended despite Sale coming off an injury-plagued 2018 season, issues that have carried over for the majority of the last four seasons.
While the contract may have contributed to the firing of former president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, it was absolutely an idea signed off on by ownership, with principal owner John Henry telling the media a month before the agreement that the Red Sox had messed up the Jon Lester's negotiations and they weren't going to make the same mistake twice.
Sale admitted to WEEI.com in spring training that once Henry made those remarks the pitcher knew an extension was going to get down.
"We went to Chicago later that year and we were working out in the weight room over at their place and I was kind of waiting to see him in the weight room or in passing or whatever but I didn’t," Sale said. "I was like, ‘Whoever sees Lester first, tell him I said, ‘Thank you.’"
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