Former Boston Red Sox star Xander Bogaerts said goodbye to fans in a social media post after signing with the San Diego Padres.
Xander Bogaerts and Boston were never all that close on a contract extension, and the star shortstop eventually signed with the San Diego Padres for a deal that shattered all of our expectations. Bogaerts received an 11-year commitment worth an astonishing $280 million.
The highest contract offer he received from the Red Sox wasn’t even in that same ballpark, leaving Chaim Bloom shocked and in distress at Bogaerts departure. Bloom is left to pick up the pieces in Boston, which has already hit a few hiccups. As for Xander, he wished Red Sox fans the best in a social media post on Monday morning.
Xander Bogaerts says goodbye 🥹💔 pic.twitter.com/CaYk4U8SsN
— Gabrielle Starr (@gfstarr1) December 19, 2022
Xander Bogaerts wishes Red Sox fans well
What’s most frustrating about the Red Sox failure to sign Xander Bogaerts is that it could’ve been avoided years ago. Boston and Scott Boras had been discussing an extension for Bogaerts even earlier than last spring training, but Bloom did not make Xander a priority until the winter meetings.
Boston’s last known offer to Bogaerts was reportedly a
than what the Padres gave him, but not the same contract length.
With Rafael Devers contract extension decision looming, the star third baseman’s camp sees the inability to sign Bogaerts as a sign of what’s to come. Devers and the Red Sox remain ‘galaxies apart,’ per Joon Lee of ESPN.
On Rafael Devers, Chaim Bloom said the Red Sox are willing to go “beyond reason” to get a deal done but that there are “limitations”
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) December 19, 2022
Sources say the Red Sox and Devers are “galaxies apart”
Devers and his camp currently expect he will be a free agent https://t.co/RNDeKbRZzn
This report was released just hours after Ken Rosenthal roasted the Red Sox ownership group for their lackluster offseason thus far, and their inability to spend money like the big-market team most expect them to be:
“Back on Sept. 1, I wrote, “For Sox ownership and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, the coming offseason looms as a turning point, if not a breaking point.” The offseason is still turning. But try to convince anyone who follows this team the Sox aren’t broken,” Rosenthal wrote (subscription required).
The Red Sox are broken. Now, who is going to pick up the pieces?