Red Sox sign Rafael Devers to monster 11-year extension, halting fans’ fears

Despite fans already preparing themselves for the worst, the Red Sox made good on the promise to keep Rafael Devers with a monster 11-year extension.

With the departure of Xander Bogaerts this offseason in free agency, Boston Red Sox fans feared the worst for star third baseman Rafael Devers. But fear no more.

On Wednesday, Carlos Baerga, as confirmed by multiple other sources, broke the big news that the Red Sox had agreed to a monster contract extension with Rafael Devers, one day after the two sides agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration.

Rafael Devers contract: Red Sox sign superstar 3B to monster contract

Bob Nightengale of USA Today brought the confirmed details of the deal first as he confirmed Baerga’s reporting that the deal would be an 11-year contract worth $331 million. That deal will begin in the 2024 season as he will earn the agreed-upon $17.5 million for the 2023 season.

This is a massive deal for the Red Sox as they hold on to one of their homegrown stars. Better yet, while stars like Carlos Correa, Trea Turner and Bogaerts are signed into their early 40s on free agency deals, this 11-year extension will run until Devers is only 37 years old, locking him up throughout his prime years.

Devers has been a dynamo in the lineup since making his debut with the team in 2017 as a 20-year-old. Over the past two seasons, Devers has slashed .287/.355/.530 with 65 home runs, 79 doubles and 201 RBI. Moreover, he’s also improved drastically defensively, which was a big concern early in his career — even if he’s still not a wizard with the leather by any stretch.

Most importantly, though, the Chaim Bloom regime in Boston had lost a lot of good faith from fans with his operations recently which this will help with. Now the next step will be a more aggressive approach moving forward to help the Red Sox upgrade their roster further and get back to World Series contention.