Pedro Martinez ready to sound the alarms if Red Sox lose Xander Bogaerts

Boston Red Sox star Pedro Martinez is ready to sound the alarms on the franchise, especially if they lose shortstop Xander Bogaerts in free agency.

Bogaerts will opt out of his current contract and become a free agent, barring any last-minute change of heart. The Boston shortstop is worth more than he’s currently making.

The question that remains, however, is if he’ll stay with the Red Sox or take his talents elsewhere. The shortstop market is expected to be quite valuable this offseason. Bogaerts will make a lot of money somewhere, even if his range projects better as a third baseman at some point in his career.

The Sox already have their backup plan — they signed Trevor Story last offseason. But will they bring back Bogaerts? And what happens if they fail to do so?

Red Sox: Pedro Martinez sounds alarms on Xander Bogaerts

“If Xander opts out and leaves the team and J.D. [Martinez] leaves the team, I think [Rafael] Devers is most likely going to head the same way,” Pedro Martinez said. “Those guys are going to go. They’re not going to have the essence of the franchise that we left. The culture that we left is going to be lost. And we don’t know when we’re going to get it back and how we’re going to get it back.”

J.D. Martinez is expected to leave, as well. Losing J.D. wouldn’t be a major hit to this Boston team in the long run. He turns 36 years old next season.

Bogaerts and Devers were meant to be the two mainstays for this Red Sox franchise, but Chaim Bloom and Co. might not agree. If one leaves, legends like Martinez and David Ortiz believe Devers would follow.

Bloom will build the next Red Sox team in the image he sees fit, and that may be unfamiliar to many in New England. But doing so without players like Bogaerts and Devers makes his job infinitely tougher.