Jon Lester, Mookie Betts and now Xander Bogaerts.
While John Henry, Tom Werner and remainder of the Red Sox possession group have been in a position to carry 4 trophies to Boston since buying the membership in 2002, they’ve now thrown virtually as many daggers into the backs of their most beloved franchise icons.
In the earliest hours of Thursday morning, when most workforce executives had packed their baggage and hopped on planes to get again dwelling after MLB’s Winter Meetings had completed, the Red Sox acquired some franchise-altering information.
Xander Bogaerts, who has performed extra video games at shortstop than anyone within the membership’s 100-plus-year-old historical past, had agreed to an 11-year, $280-million deal to hitch the San Diego Padres.
Bogaerts to Padres. $280M 11 years
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 8, 2022
There, he’ll be an ideal match.
He’ll be a mentor to assist nurture a few of the proficient younger gamers who’ve been missing management and World Series pedigree. He’ll be a bridge who connects younger gamers to outdated, and Spanish-speaking gamers to the English-speaking. He’ll be an on a regular basis shortstop who not often makes errors, runs the bases properly, hits for energy, hits for common and hits within the clutch. He’ll rise up in entrance of his locker when issues are going poorly and reply questions so the others received’t must. He’ll signal autographs and go to sick youngsters in hospital beds.
This is who he’s, and the Red Sox understand it higher than anyone.
Too properly, maybe.
It was Bogaerts’ highest quality, his real potential to attach with folks, that the Red Sox needed to take advantage of.
Players and coaches within the clubhouse, followers within the stands, ushers and safety guards within the stadium and anyone else locally who occurred to spend a bit little bit of time with Bogaerts over time knew that he genuinely loved himself in Boston. He beloved each a part of it.
He by no means needed to depart, and he made that clear again and again, along with his phrases and along with his actions.
Before 2019, when Bogaerts was coming into his final season earlier than free company and was nonetheless with out a contract, he went to essentially the most highly effective agent in baseball and instructed him to get a deal executed. He’d take much less cash, however he needed to be in Boston long-term.
His agent, Scott Boras, obliged, however beneath one situation: the Sox embrace an opt-out clause that lets Bogaerts take a look at the market once more at 30 years outdated, simply in case he had gotten rather a lot higher, and simply in case the Red Sox didn’t wish to pay him for it.
Bogaerts did get higher. Loads higher. And the Red Sox by no means paid him for it.
They paid him $85 million mixed over components of 10 seasons, together with $20 million a 12 months in his last three, however when prime shortstops throughout the sport had been making near $30 million yearly and Bogaerts’ offensive manufacturing out-paced all of them, that didn’t appear to register with the fellows writing the checks on Jersey Street.
They lowballed him throughout spring coaching, reportedly providing him only one extra 12 months as an extension to his unique deal, one that might’ve paid him $90 million over the subsequent 4 years.
Was it a aggressive provide? Just ask the Padres; 9 months later, they tripled the $90 million, then added $10 million on prime.
The least-surprised particular person out there’s most likely the shortstop himself.
Bogaerts was there in 2013 and 2014 with Lester. He had seen it with Betts, a number of instances over. The writing was on the wall that the identical factor would occur to him, too.
After Game 161, a wet Tuesday in early October, Bogaerts swatted a game-winning grandslam within the final inning, then mentioned it felt like destiny.
It felt like an ideal sendoff.
The subsequent day, Bogaerts performed his final recreation in a Red Sox uniform.
Did he assume he’d be again in 2023? He couldn’t say. But he mentioned one thing that ought to stay within the minds of Red Sox followers (and homeowners) for a protracted, very long time.
“This place has given me so much, but obviously I’m in a different place now than I was when I was younger,” he mentioned. “I’ve grown a lot. I’ve discovered a lot. That got here with expertise, by seeing a whole lot of stuff with my teammates and being across the recreation generally, understanding your talents, understanding what you’re able to.
“I feel like now, as a player I have a better understanding than I did when I was 25, 26, trying to see what type of player you are at that point.”
In different phrases, the wide-eyed child who fell in love with enjoying baseball at Fenway Park each evening would’ve executed something to play there eternally.
But a decade within the enterprise had hardened him. Watching what occurred to his mates wasn’t misplaced on him.
“I understand it, but I’ve seen it happen with my teammates,” he mentioned. “I’m not saying I’m prepared for it, but I’ve seen it happen before. It’s tough, it really is, but I have seen it.”
If Bogaerts stays in San Diego at some point of his 11-year contract, he’ll find yourself with extra seasons for the Padres than he performed with the Red Sox. He’ll want a terrific run in his 30s to make the Hall of Fame, however it’s actually doable, and simply as doable he’ll select the navy cap over the pink one.
He’ll reunite with Padres play-by-play man Don Orsillo, who tweeted an image of the 2 of them shortly after the contract was introduced early Thursday morning, and he’ll get to play within the sunshine and heat climate, an actual deal with for a child from Aruba who, like the remainder of us, hated Boston climate in April.
Yessssssss!!!!! @Padres Welcome to San Diego my good friend! pic.twitter.com/kt05Bs5u6h
— Don Orsillo (@DonOrsillo) December 8, 2022
Chances are, we’ll look again in 11 years and say that $280 million was some huge cash, most likely an excessive amount of, and it’ll be tough for Bogaerts to carry out properly sufficient over the period of the deal for it to be completely value it.
On paper, that’s.
In each different method, the Padres will get precisely the person they’re paying for.
Just ask the Red Sox.
Source: www.bostonherald.com