Twins backup plan for Carlos Correa will upset Red Sox fans

Boston Red Sox fans have been waiting far too long for Xander Bogaerts to get extended, and the Minnesota Twins may be solid competition.

The Boston Red Sox have unfortunately failed to secure Xander Bogaerts before he opted out of his contract to officially become a free agent, and there’s a strong chance he’ll get taken off the market by another team.

The Minnesota Twins are fighting for their own star shortstop Carlos Correa, who also opted out of his contract to become a free agent. If they fail to re-sign Correa, they’re reportedly eyeing Bogaerts as their backup plan.

Bogaerts would certainly be a great option. The Twins will have plenty of payroll cleared up, and if they’re prepared to offer Correa quite a bit of money, they could likely get away with paying Bogaerts just slightly less, suggesting money is no issue.

Having another star shortstop nearly to the caliber of Correa would be beyond exciting for Twins fans, but Bogaerts officially leaving Boston would be devastating news for most Red Sox fans.

The Twins need to continue undergoing development if they want to be more likely for postseason success as they haven’t made it past the Division Series since 2002 and have only made the postseason in the Wild Card series a handful of times in the 2010s.

The Red Sox, however, need such development too as their success becomes more and more hindered. Bogaerts was one of the few good things in Boston in 2022, so it’s tough to imagine him in another team’s jersey.

Both the Twins and the Red Sox need someone like Xander Bogaerts

If Bogaerts walks from Boston, he could certainly be replaced by someone like Correa, Trea Turner or Dansby Swanson. The star shortstops on the market are far from disappointing and just as capable as Bogaerts, but the issue presented that makes it tough for Boston fans to part with him is the fact that he’s homegrown talent.

Bogaerts has been with the Red Sox through two World Series wins, both in 2013 and 2018. He’s earned several awards under the franchise, including Minor League Player of the Year, five AL Silver Sluggers, two Red Sox MVPs, two Player of the Week awards and the Red Sox Jackie Jensen Spirit Award.

He also led the league for shortstops in a few areas this season, including batting average (.307) and on-base percentage (.377).

Fans have grown to love him. He was hand-picked by the Red Sox many years ago, and he’s only been a part of Boston’s franchise. While another player grown from another team could certainly step in and fill the shoes, the sentimentality won’t be the same. The fan connection won’t be the same.

Bogaerts would do a lot of great things for Minnesota, as he would on any team. Another star shortstop would undoubtedly do great things for Boston, too. However, Bogaerts’ chapter in Boston coming to an end would certainly be a tough pill for Red Sox fans to swallow as Boston didn’t try as hard to keep him around as most hoped.