Red Sox: Framework of an extension for shortstop Xander Bogaerts

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 05: Xander Bogaerts
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 05: Xander Bogaerts /
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HOUSTON, TX – JUNE 18: Scott Boras, agent of right-handed pitcher Lance McCullers, who was selected in the compensation first round (41st overall) of the 2012 MLB First Year Player Draft, is speaks during a press conference at Minute Maid Park on June 18, 2012 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX – JUNE 18: Scott Boras, agent of right-handed pitcher Lance McCullers, who was selected in the compensation first round (41st overall) of the 2012 MLB First Year Player Draft, is speaks during a press conference at Minute Maid Park on June 18, 2012 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

His agent complicates things.

He is a Scott Boras client which traditionally means that he is looking for the largest payout possible. He would also have five years of service time under his belt if negotiations were to take place this offseason. With that in mind let’s examine all short-stops who received contract extensions in the past ten years who had at least five seasons of service time accumulated.

Date Player Team Position Years Total Dollars (millions) Adjusted Dollars Service (years) Agency
10/09/2014 J.J. Hardy BAL SS 3  $40M 42.3 9.164 Landis Baseball Group
11/30/2012 Alexi Casilla BAL SS 1  $1.9M 2.1 5.038 Proformance
04/18/2012 Erick Aybar LAA SS 4  $35M 38.2 5.086 ISE Baseball
07/16/2011 J.J. Hardy BAL SS 3  $22.5M 25.3 6.099 Landis Baseball Group
01/10/2011 Jason Bartlett SDG SS 2  $11M 12.4 5.086 Landis Baseball Group
01/25/2010 Maicer Izturis LAA 2B / SS 3  $10M 11.4 5.038 Legacy Agency
12/16/2009 Ramon Santiago DET SS 2  $2.5M 2.9 5.095 ACES
11/13/2009 Jack Wilson SEA SS 2  $10M 11.7 8.147 Page Odle
07/22/2008 Cristian Guzman WAS SS 2  $16M 18.8 9.119 Stanley King

Contract data is via MLB Trade Rumors and all adjusted salaries were calculated using this calculator. The first thing that jumps out is that these players are all much worse than Xander Bogaerts. J.J. Hardy’s 8.5 fWAR in the three years prior to his extension is the highest mark of the group and still well short of the 12.7 fWAR Bogaerts achieved between 2015 and 2017. That’s without even accounting for the fact that Hardy was 31-years-old; a decent bit older than the 25-year-old Bogaerts.