Xander Bogaerts said Thursday he won’t discuss an extension with the Red Sox after the season begins. But Red Sox president Sam Kennedy indicates the two sides will remain in communication.
On “The Greg Hill Show” Friday, Kennedy left the door open for talks to progress this summer, despite Bogaerts’ apparent red line.
“We appreciate the way Xander’s handled everything, handled himself, handled our conversations. I’ll leave it at that,” Kennedy said. “We’ll keep talking. We’ll keep the conversations going and turn our attention to this season. But we’ll see where the future takes us.”
Bogaerts was pretty blunt about the state of negotiations at his press conference, saying the Red Sox offered him a contract and “it didn’t work out.” He can opt-out of his deal at the end of the season.
With top shortstops earning north of $30 million annually — Carlos Correa ($35.1 million), Francisco Lindor ($34.1 million), Corey Seager ($33 million) — Bogaerts is due for a substantial raise. He signed a six-year, $120 million extension with an opt-out prior to the 2019 campaign.
Kennedy appeared optimistic the situation between Bogaerts and the Red Sox won’t grow contentious, due to Alex Cora’s communication skills and the team’s leadership.
“You do it with open, honest, transparent communication, and there’s no one better at that than Alex Cora and the leadership in that clubhouse among the veteran guys,” Kennedy said. “Chaim Bloom and Brian O’Halloran and their baseball ops staff have made it a practice of making sure the communication is free-flowing. Everyone knows what we’re trying to do here, what we’re trying to build here. You want that direct communication, and hopefully that will eliminate any chance of issues popping up. That’s what we try to focus on.”
Though the Red Sox signed Trevor Story to a six-year, $140 million contract, there’s palpable unhappiness among the fanbase about Bogaerts, and the team’s inability to extend Rafael Devers, who will be a free agent in 2023.
Kennedy reminded the audience the Red Sox have always spent money under John Henry’s ownership, and that isn’t going to change.
“Advocating resources for player payroll has never been an issue under John and Tom [Werner’s] leadership here over the last two decades,” Kennedy said. “It’s our job to make sure that as we build a complete roster, and we’re looking near term and long-term, that we’re using those resources properly. We do have the resources to be competitive year-in and year out, and that’s what we’re going to keep doing.”
We’ll see if the Red Sox’ actions with Bogaerts and Devers match their words.
