Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom keeps dancing around Xander Bogaerts decision

Boston Red Sox general manager Chaim Bloom danced around a question about signing shortstop Xander Bogaerts. 

The Boston Red Sox’s 2022 season is nearing its end, and they are outside looking at a postseason berth. Well, 10 games behind for the last AL Wild Card berth, to be exact (entering Sept. 8). This upcoming offseason will be a tense one for Red Sox fans, as shortstop Xander Bogaerts is likely to opt out of his contract to hit free agency. The team did enter negotiations prior to the 2022 season, but they did not go well.

During an appearance on “The Greg Hill Show,” Red Sox general manager Chaim Bloom was asked about why a deal was not done with Bogaerts. Specifically, why that hasn’t happened despite Bloom saying that they are a big market team willing to spend.

Here was Bloom’s answer.

“It’s a question of finding the right deal,” said Bloom. “We have a couple of guys, that I get asked that a lot, that we want to find those right deals with. Obviously, we haven’t yet, or we’d have an agreement, but we still want to. It’s obviously a question of finding a way to have, really, both those guys here on deals that are going to work out for everybody.”

Chaim Bloom ‘finding the right deal’ with Xander Bogaerts

This is not exactly what Red Sox fans want to hear, especially since Bogaerts stands a good chance of leaving in free agency. There is good reason, as he will become one of the top shortstops available on the open market, alongside Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson.

Prior to the start of the season, Bogaerts and the Red Sox could not reach an agreement on a deal before Opening Day. Even before negotiations ended, the team brought in Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story on a six-year contract.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post back in April, the Red Sox only offered to add one-year and $30 million to his current deal.

Through 13 games this season (entering Sept. 8), Bogaerts recorded a .315 batting average, a .382 on-base percentage, a .466 slugging percentage, 12 home runs, 63 RBI, 77 runs scored, and 153 hits.

Bloom is looking to find the right deal, and the Red Sox fanbase is certainly hoping that he can give Bogaerts the deal he deserves to prevent him from leaving Boston.