Let's pause for a second from the roller coaster the Red Sox are riding into the final month of the regular season to look a little big picture ...
It seems like a good time to soak in the existence of Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts.
The subject of the pair came up prior to what would be the Red Sox' 7-5 loss to the Indians. (Spoiler: A depleted bullpen couldn't hold the lead.)
Red Sox manager Alex Cora was asked why Devers and Bogaerts might not be appreciated around Major League Baseball in the manner they deserved. His answer had a little oomph behind it.
"For the media to not recognize greatness, that’s for you guys to answer that one," he said. "Not me. Raffy led the league in extra base hits two years ago. He has 30 home runs and 95 RBIs and people don’t put him up there with the best young talent in the league. They always talk about Fernando (Tatis) and (Juan) Soto and Vladdy (Guerrero). I mean, this kid has a World Series ring already and he impacted that World Series. In ’17, he was probably the best hitter of that team in the playoffs. But hey, I like my third baseman, I love my shortstop. I love my third baseman, too. I’ll keep it like that and we have fun with them. They’re great. For me, they’re amazing. Whoever’s not talking about them is swinging and missing.”
Cora added, "I’m talking overall. Overall. The media doesn’t give them the credit they deserve overall. National media. You guys talk about them. That’s something for the other people to talk about or answer that question because these guys are amazing.”
It's hard to argue that these two are in the conversation for Top 10 players under 30 years old in the big leagues. That should be gold.
The 28-year-old Bogaerts is undoubtedly one of the best offensive shortstops in the game, currently residing behind only Tatis Jr., Trea Turner and Brandon Crawford in terms of OPS.
Devers, who will be 25 year old in Oct., has the second-best OPS of any third baseman in baseball, narrowly behind Atlanta's Austin Riley.
There hasn't been a tidal wave of commercials coming either player's way, with MLB in seemingly no rush to build Tatis-esque campaigns around the two Red Sox. Devers, for one, isn't sweating it.
"I don't feel bad at all," the third baseman said after hitting multiple home runs for the ninth time in his young career. "That's something you guys need to worry about, as the media. You guys are the ones that put the posting and Major League Baseball, they're the ones that put up the rankings. You guys are the ones that have to worry about whether my name is on there or not, not me. I don't have any control over it. I come in and do my job. I come here and play baseball and do the best I can. Again, that's you guys. That's the media. If you guys want to put things about me and post and put me in the rankings, that's fine, you can. But if not, I still have to come out here and do my job. I don't control that."
He shouldn't care. They shouldn't care. You shouldn't care. The only entity that matters when it comes to correctly valuing Devers and Bogaerts is the Boston Red Sox organization.
If no extensions are struck, these two players could very well be a Mookie Betts memory after the 2023 season.
Bogaerts has hinted strongly that he won't be ignoring that opt-out after the 2022 campaign, with Devers eligible for free agency a year later.
It's hard to ignore the importance of having players like this as no-doubt-about-it, middle-of-the-order options when building a championship contender. They have proven to be true foundational players, both on and off the field.
But ...
The cross-that-bridge-when-we-come-to-it conversation is worth entering into this debate. The Red Sox' top prospect (Marcelo Mayer) is a shortstop who projects to be big-league worthy around 2024 or '25. Another Top 10 prospect is highly-touted third baseman Blaze Jordan. And if you were thinking Devers would simply slide over to first base, there is a guy named Triston Casas who figures to be knocking at the MLB door next season.
Yes, these players are all being propped up by projections. But they are also the kind of top-tier minor leaguers Chaim Bloom undoubtedly view as opportunities to manage payroll while keeping the potential of All-Star talent.
And while this isn't an either/or that has to be determined in the coming months, understand that with extensions to Bogaerts and/or Devers comes altered long-term decision-making at each respective position.
The question the Red Sox have to ask is whether or not these are the two guys who become the face of the franchise for years to come (because, let's be honest, it's hard for even the richest of organizations to afford more than two of those).
Bogaerts and Devers have made a pretty strong case.