FORT MYERS, Fla. - Xander Bogaerts. Nathan Eovaldi. Kiké Hernandez. Christian Vazquez. J.D. Martinez.
Those are just some of the Red Sox whose final season with this team could very well be the 2022 campaign that is just days away. All have contracts that have the potential to expire after this season, which of course can sometimes lead to a bit of awkwardness as the opportunity for free agency draws closer.
And we aren't even talking about Rafael Devers, who will be eligible to hit the open market after 2023.
Talking to the media Thursday morning, Red Sox manager Alex Cora addressed the conversation and some pitfalls that can come with such a dynamic. It's a gauntlet he remembers going through prior to the 2019 season, just prior to the extensions handed over to Chris Sale and Bogaerts.
"Honestly, I think ’19 taught me a lot on that end," Cora said. "Obviously, ’18 was a lot easier because we didn’t have any talks about free agents. We had no free agents. And then ’19 there was a lot of talks right away in the cage, everywhere. I was like, ‘Whoa, this is different.’ I learned a lot. It’s something I feel I can control in the clubhouse. We can stay locked in one what we’re trying to accomplish and understand there is a business side of it. There are a lot of guys we would love to stay here and there are other guys we know they are going to be free agents and they are going to cash in. But as far as me, personally, I learned a lot in ’19 and I’m more prepared now to deal with stuff like that than I was in ’19.
"We’re locked in. You can see it as far as the drills and the way we’re playing. There’s not much talk about contracts. There’s not much talk about free agency. Yeah, there’s talk about contract extensions, but that’s easy to talk about. That’s part of the business. So far, everybody is in a good frame of mind. Everybody understands we fell short last year of what we wanted to do. It’s actually been one of the best camps I’ve been around as far as the way they work, efficiency, taking care of players and the product on the field. The thing I’m more excited about is the defense. I think it’s two errors in whatever games we have played. The third baseman is playing great defense. We have guys going around and they’re doing what they’re doing in the morning every day. They have been very diligent about it. There’s not much talk here. No team meetings, whatever. Just come here, work and get ready for April 7."
