Why so many in Major League Baseball are focusing in on the Aug. 31 trade deadline, there is another date which means quite a bit to Chaim Bloom and his Red Sox: Sept. 6.
It is on that date that Xander Bogaerts' contract states he gets full no-trade rights (as Ken Rosenthal first pointed out).
The clause would seem to complicate how the Red Sox view keeping Bogaerts, who has an opt-out after the 2022 season but could be under team control through 2026 if he chooses to stay. But in his appearance on the Greg Hill Show Thursday morning, the Sox' Chief Baseball Officer threw cold water on the idea that the shortstop's impending status change would impact how the organization views Bogaerts.
"I don't want to get into specific contractual details although I saw what was reported. The one thing I would say is that I don't think something like that would change our approach here," Bloom said. "We see him as a core player that we want to have here for a very long time. I know that news has been out there but it's not something that is at front of mind for us in terms of how we're approaching the deadline."
While Red Sox president Sam Kennedy went on WEEI last week and relayed that all names were in play heading into the trade deadline, Bloom certainly seemed to temper that a bit when asked about Bogaerts.