San Diego shortstop Xander Bogaerts is off to a hot start. In his first 12 games with the Padres, Bogaerts is batting .333 (15 for 45) with four home runs. That’s one home run for each year the Red Sox reportedly offered him last spring.
This offseason, Bogaerts signed an 11-year, $280 million contract with the Padres. He recently spoke about the Red Sox saying he was a top priority but not showing it.
The Red Sox front office thought that Bogaerts and Devers could be a package deal, but that wasn’t the case. With Bogaerts gone, the Red Sox signed Devers to a 10-year, $313.5 million extension.
Bogaerts once again joined WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the Audacy Original Podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” and talked about the different approach the Red Sox front office took with him and Devers together.
“We never talked about it,” Bogaerts said (14:40 in player above). “Honestly, in-season and stuff like that, we never talked about what it might be (in 2023).”
Bogaerts was a pending free agent last season while Devers had one year left on his contract. They were in a similar situation, although not exactly the same, and the Red Sox sat down with both of them toward the end of the season.
“When you guys sit on the couch up in the suite, you guys must’ve walked out and said ‘Hey, what do you think?’” Bradford said.
“That’s probably how they wanted us to feel,” Bogaerts said. “It wasn’t weird … I’d say different maybe… Throughout my years I’ve never seen that happen. If it had happened with someone I would probably say maybe only David Ortiz or Dustin Pedroia.”
Bogaerts and Devers were teammates on the left side of the Red Sox infield for many years, but that didn’t mean that they’d be a package deal.
“They probably thought that one had to do with the other but it didn’t. We’re both grown and in the end, he has his life and I have my life,” Bogaerts said. “I’m supportive of whatever decision he has made or was going to make and the same way with me. Throughout my process he kind of knew where my head was going, meaning with the Padres… In the end, we both got what we wanted and what we deserved.”
Bogaerts got the security and payday that he wanted with his big contract in San Diego, which also provides him with a chance to compete right away.
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Devers looks to continue to be a building block for the Red Sox as Boston looks to get back into contention in a tough AL East.
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