As quickly as Game No. 162 was over, the query needed to be requested: will Xander Bogaerts return to the Red Sox subsequent yr?
Bogaerts has been patiently answering these questions since spring coaching, however it was clear this yr had taken a toll on him.
“It’s a tough situation for me because this is all I know,” he mentioned after the Sox’ 6-3 win over the Rays on Wednesday. “Obviously, this place has given me so much, but obviously I’m in a different place now than I was when I was younger. I’ve grown so much. I’ve learned so much.”
When Bogaerts requested his agent, Scott Boras, to get him a long-term contract extension earlier than the 2019 season, he knew he was going to get a team-friendly deal. Boras knew it too, which is why Boras made positive there was an opt-out clause that might get Bogaerts again to free company at age 30.
Now that point has come. After being underpaid for 3 years, Bogaerts can lastly money in. And whereas $60 million over the subsequent three years seems like nice cash, it might be lower than half of what he’ll fetch on an open market.
After watching Mookie Betts get traded out of city as a result of the Sox wouldn’t pay him truthful market worth, and seeing Rafael Devers’ makes an attempt at an extension go unsuccessfully, Bogaerts appears to have modified his mindset.
Balancing enterprise and feelings “came with experience,” he mentioned Wednesday.
“By seeing a lot of stuff with my teammates and being around the game in general, knowing your abilities, knowing what you’re capable of,” he mentioned. “I really feel like now, you as a participant would have a greater understanding than I used to be once I was 25, 26, making an attempt to see what sort of participant you’re at that time.
“I understand it, but I’ve seen it happen with my teammates. 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.”
Bogaerts mentioned there have been no latest contract extension talks with the Red Sox and he plans on going dwelling to Aruba within the coming days. The Red Sox have till 5 days after the World Series ends to hammer out an extension earlier than Bogaerts can develop into eligible without cost company.
“Hopefully something can happen,” he mentioned. “You never know what can happen. This place has meant a lot to me, me and my family. It’s a winning environment. It’s pretty much all I know. But I’ve said multiple times, I’m more mature, in a different mentality now than I was a couple years ago. I’ve definitely grown a lot.”
Bogaerts mentioned you will discover him on a seashore in Aruba.
“I’m going home, I’m going to the beach, I’m going to play a lot of dominos and just enjoy it,” he mentioned. “I don’t want to see a bat. I don’t want to see a ball. This year has been really hard for me and I really feel like I deserve that for myself … I need it a lot. I need it more than a lot of years I’ve been here.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com