Xander Bogaerts contract demands are too much for Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox were reportedly unwilling to agree to shortstop Xander Bogaerts’ contract demands.

With the 2022 MLB season set to begin, that means that some contract negotiations between teams and players were set to end. Ahead of Opening Day, Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts was asked if he expected to reach an agreement on a contract extension with the team, to which he replied “no.”

According to ESPN’s Joon Lee, Bogaerts was looking for a contract that would put him in line with the highest-paid shortstops in the league such as Corey Seager, Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa, but the Red Sox declined that request.

Red Sox decline to match Xander Bogaerts’ contract request

Correa, Lindor and Seager are all making an annual salary between $33-36 million.

Bogaerts is entering the third season of his six-year, $120 million contract with the Red Sox. In this deal, Bogaerts has the ability to opt-out of his deal and hit free agency at the end of this season.

In his press conference on Thursday, Bogaerts confirmed that the Red Sox did make an offer this offseason, but “it didn’t work out.” Negotiations will not take place during the campaign, as Bogaerts said that he is focused on the 2022 season. You can listen to some of Bogaerts’ comments in NBC Sports Boston’s tweet below:

Last season, Bogaerts slashed .295/.370/.493 and recorded 23 home runs, 79 RBI, 90 runs scored and 156 hits. The shortstop was named to the All-Star team and won the Silver Slugger award for the fourth time in his career.

Bogaerts is not the only player due for a new contract. Third baseman Rafael Devers has also had contract discussions with the Red Sox, but it appears that they will not reach an agreement ahead of Opening Day. Devers is an unrestricted free agent after the 2023 season.