The next name Red Sox fans will want to know
David Ortiz is just a few days from officially calling himself a Hall of Famer, with his induction into Cooperstown taking place July 24.
But that doesn't mean he's not also focused on a topic that is weighing on everyone who follows the Red Sox: Will Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers be sticking around for a while?
Ortiz addressed the merits of extending the contracts of both players - with Bogaerts having the opportunity to opt-out after 2022, and Devers becoming free agent-eligible following 2023 - while conducting media availability for his upcoming big day.
"When you have a guy like (Devers) or like Bogaerts in your lineup that means you’re going to take pressure away from everybody else," Ortiz said. "They know how to handle it. They know how it is to play in Boston. Trust me, playing in Boston is not for every type of player. I played there for so long and it’s a distraction for a lot of players. They don’t know how to handle it. I played with a lot of superstars who were great somewhere else, but when they go to Boston they struggled because they couldn’t pull it off with what was going on there. Those two guys, they grew up there. You know what to expect from them. You know what they’re going to give here. That’s why sometimes I don’t understand organizations sometimes walking away from that and they prefer to explore some other options. I would go with what I know. Keep it simple.
"I mean, the fans, me as who I am right now not playing the game anymore, I know what to expect from those guys. I know exactly what I’m going to get from the two of them. They are the type of guys that … They are the best players that can represent the Red Sox, better than anybody else, as of right now. We need to lock them in. We need to lock them in."
Ortiz was especially effusive in his praise of Devers, ranking the third baseman as one of the best offensive players in the game right now while also drawing some pretty lofty comparisons to the former designated hitter's own abilities.
"When I see Devers it’s like I never left because he’s fearless," Ortiz said. "He became the man at such an early age. He looks invincible out there. Everything is going really good for him. Matter of fact, when I first saw him a couple of years ago in the big leagues I called the Red Sox and said, ‘You have to lock this guy in.’ I had that conversation with some of the major leaguers. Devers might be one of the Top 3 pure hitters in the game right now. I’m 100 percent sure because I watch that kid hitting and playing the game so many times that when I’m watching him I’m expecting something. Once you have that type of player, that caliber of player, there is no other way to compare him to myself because he doesn’t waste any at-bats. Every time he steps to the plate you can see he is expecting to do something, and as a fan, watching the game, you always are expecting him to come through. I know what that feeling is all about.
"I hope the Red Sox make sense about the decision that they have to make with him. We have to keep Devers around, man. Devers is the face of that organization as of right now and nobody can argue that."