It was exactly two years ago Thursday.
Xander Bogaerts' joined his agent, Scott Boras, along with then-Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski at a podium in the bowels of the home of the A's in Oakland. The shortstop was announcing his new deal all seemed right with the world.
Bogaerts had told Boras to get a deal done with the Red Sox one way or another, taking away the possibility of an entrance into the free agent market at the age of just 27 years old. He only wanted to stay in Boston, playing for Alex Cora on a team that had just won the 2018 World Series a few months before.
Was it a team-friendly deal? No doubt. The $20 million Bogaerts would be making each season from 2020-26 was nothing to sneeze at, but considering the way the player's career was trending, it was undoubtedly a bargain for a team eyeing a run well beyond just that one title.
But times have changed, as we were reminded with Francisco Lindor's recently-agreed-upon 10-year, $341 million deal.
"I’m very happy that he’s my shortstop," Cora said Thursday. "I said it two years ago. It’s funny how people put Puerto Rican with a shortstop and a manager … I like my shortstop. I love my shortstop. I’m proud of my shortstop. And I’m glad I’m going to put him in the fourth spot and he’s going to play short for us hopefully for a long, long time. He made a decision two years ago to get the done. I think the decision was the right one for both of those. Like I told him in Seattle that day, ‘You have a chance to be the greatest shortstop in the history of the Boston Red Sox.’ The way he goes about his business, he will be. We’re very proud of him. Very happy. You look around and obviously there are some great ones and there are going to be some free agents. But we have our shortstop and we love our shortstop."
Bogaerts is still the second-highest paid shortstop behind Lindor, but that won't be the case when he is presented with that opt-out option following the 2022 season. By then Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager and perhaps Javier Baez will all have passed him.
The cast of characters Bogaerts also thought would be part of the Red Sox foundation for the entirety of his deal will also be dramatically turned over.
Nathan Eovaldi. Christian Vazquez. J.D. Martinez. Kiké Hernandez. Garrett Richards. Maybe Chris Sale. Those are just some of the names who will be eligible to leave after 2022. And Rafael Devers? He is up one season later. And, of course, Eduardo Rodriguez may very well take off after this season.
How much is Bogaerts going to be worth by the time that 2022 decision comes around? A lot more than probably he even anticipated when sitting in Oakland that day.
Since agreeing to the extension, no shortstop has a better OPS than Bogaerts' .924. For context, in 33 plate appearances over that span, Lindor's batting average is 37 points lower than Bogaerts, with his OPS sitting at 116 points shy of the Sox' shortstop.
And there is this: Bogaerts is just one year older than Lindor.
There is an understanding that Bogaerts' defense isn't what the likes of Lindor or Fernando Tatis Jr. might represent. But it is good enough to solidly play the position while serving as the kind of middle-of-the-order presence teams are built on.
Then there is prioritizing having a face of the franchise while the rest of the roster is being turned inside-out. You lost that chance with Mookie Betts, now the Red Sox shouldn't make the same mistake by allowing Bogaerts to exit.
So while so many are focused on extensions for Devers and Rodriguez, the Lindor news should offer another reminder that Bogaerts is the priority. It's time to put their best foot forward when taking that opt-out option out of the equation.
It's time to cement Bogaerts' future with the Red Sox.