Carlos Baerga is the new Jeff Passan.
The 1990s MLB star broke the news of Rafael Devers’ monstrous 11-year, $331 million extension with the Red Sox Wednesday on his Instagram account, beating out Passan, Jon Heyman, Bob Nightengale and every other venerated MLB Insider. And the best part is, Baerga didn’t file an article, or even make a post on Twitter.
Instead, Baerga put one of the offseason’s biggest scoops on his Instagram story, meaning it will disappear in 24 hours. Baerga’s graphic is complete imposed images of Devers’ and the Red Sox’ logo from the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Oh, and his scoop is sponsored by Goya Adobo and Tijuana’s bar and grill. It doesn’t get better than that.
Earlier this winter, Baerga, who played in 73 games for the Red Sox in 2002, tore into his former club for not yet extending Devers. "The Red Sox are embarrassing. They don't deserve a player like Rafael Devers,” he said, per Hector Gomez. “It's incredible that they haven't offered him a contract like he deserves. My advice to Devers is to put the numbers he always puts in next season and sign with a team that values him.”
Devers clearly received that respect from the Red Sox. His $331 million deal is the largest in club history, and the sixth-biggest in MLB history.
Baerga, who spent 14 years in the big leagues and finished with a .291 career batting average, has helped coach the Puerto Rican national team during the World Baseball Classic. He’s also the owner of a winter team in Puerto Rico, and worked for ESPN as a Spanish-language broadcaster.
there’s a lot of things about the universe that tell me we’re in a simulation and “as first reported by carlos baerga” is high on the list
— Jesse Spector (@jessespector) January 4, 2023
Clearly, he’s stayed close to the game. Earlier this offseason, Baerga also broke Justin Verlander’s two-year, $86.7 million contract with the Mets.
Like every Insider, Baerga has also missed. He incorrectly reported the Red Sox were nearing a deal with Xander Bogaerts.
But breaking news on Devers and Verlander isn’t a bad start. Welcome to the media game, Carlos.
