With Xander Bogaerts signing an extension with the Red Sox, the team could be limiting their abilities to bring back other star players in the near future.
On Sunday night, the Boston Red Sox and their star shortstop reportedly agreed to a contract extension. This new deal will see Xander Bogaerts earn $132 million over the next seven years.
This is obviously good news for Sox fans, as Bogaerts has been a key player to what Boston has done over the last six years. However, this agreement could have many future implications on how the front office plans to go forward with this outstanding group of players. This news comes just a week after ace Chris Sale agreed his 5-year, $145m extension – it’s been a busy opening week to see season both on and off the diamond.
These are two deal that would’ve been pondered upon a lot between Dave Dombrowski and the rest of his staff. They’re commitments that the Sox were willing to make – and ones that, in all honesty, should. Bogaerts and Sale will remain key players in this team for years to come and everybody in Boston knows what they’re capable of – therefore, financially, these look like very necessary moves.
Both deals have opt-outs in 2022, meaning that it’s not conclusive that these deals are paid in whole. It’s great these two players are going to remain in Boston, but the negative is how it could restrict other players returning in the near future.
Other players who will need contract extensions if they are to stay in Boston for the future include the likes of superstars Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez. There are plenty of other deals that would also need to be sorted, but these are the main ones for obvious reasons.
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Betts will be eligible for his final year of arbitration for next season, while Martinez has player options which could see him walk for a larger sum after this year. While there’s no salary cap issue in baseball, it’s still a huge commitment giving these kinds of numbers to any player. Betts would likely command a very long-term deal, like Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Mike Trout – as he is one of these highest of caliber players. There’s no doubt he’ll get paid, but what’s gone on the last couple of weeks could have effects on the Sox’s ability to be the ones to give him this deal.
This group of players is special, they showed that in breaking the all-time franchise wins record, last year – topping it off like champions with a World Series win. Sox fans have been urged to enjoy what we have now. In sports, it’s increasingly hard to keep a group of players together and it’s harder when there are so many lovable characters, like this group. Going forward it’s ominous that some losses will have to come, but that’s sports.
The Red Sox will have this core signed through 2020, and won’t have to make any urgent decisions and must now focus on playing and winning games. Whether or not Mookie goes through arbitration or not remains to be seen; however, he can and will earn big bucks sooner or later, so why shouldn’t he want to do this sooner? This should be the goal for the Sox, in terms of contracts, now – to lock down their franchise right fielder.