Red Sox: Xander Bogaerts has potential to be in MVP conversation
The Boston Red Sox will be looking to erase the memory of this past season and they’ll be doing so behind the bat of Xander Bogaerts.
Last offseason, fans saw the Red Sox make some very confusing moves that would all but blow up in their faces. Dave Dombrowski handed out heavy contracts to Nathan Eovaldi, Steve Pearce, and Chris Sale, with all three making homes on the Injured List in 2019. One contract that paid off huge for Boston was the extension that was given to shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
Just before the season started the dynamic infielder inked a 6 yr/$120M contract extension that will see him play out his prime at Fenway Park. With plenty of uncertainty surrounding some of the bigger name players on the roster, having Bogey locked down for the foreseeable future is reassuring.
We saw the shortstop do things offensively in 2019 that he hasn’t done in years, which was a sight to behold. The pairing that he formed with third baseman Rafael Devers gave the Red Sox the offensive boost they desperately needed. Boston’s veteran infielder is heading into his eighth year in the bigs and is coming off of his best total campaign.
A final line of .309/.384/.555/.939 with 33 homers and 117 RBI made Xander the centerpiece of the Red Sox offense in 2019. He and Devers would become the first teammates in MLB history to be in the 30 HR/50 2B club, which is mind-boggling. The dynamic duo will also be the heartbeat of Boston’s attack in the upcoming season as they look to duplicate their performances.
When it came time to announce the 2019 AL MVP finalists the names were not shocking as it was down to Mike Trout, Alex Bregman, and Marcus Semien. All had great seasons and deserved their seats at the table but when you break down the numbers it was hard to not see Bogey’s name in the lineup.
He was right up there with all the candidates even with Trout steamrolling the vote, as he should have. Defensively all four matched up pretty evenly as well leaving not much to separate the star players. With that said, as we begin to work towards Spring Training this feels like it may be the year the Red Sox have another AL MVP. A few short years after Mookie Betts was on the throne, 2020 could be the year Bogey gets his time to shine.
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In the field, Xander is the foundation of the infield and his 13 errors over 153 games earned him a .975 Fld%. Not bad considering he had a young and developing Devers to his right and a carousel of players to his left. He was able to run the infield and keep control no matter who was playing beside him. That poise and confidence in his abilities can lead to him reaching even higher levels this upcoming season.
As we all know, the magical and mythical WAR number is what tends to determine who gets to be MVP. In 2019, Trout (8.3), Bregman (8.4), and Semien (8.1) posted some of the highest numbers whereas Bogey only tallied a 5.2. Personally, I’m not a big fan of WAR as I believe it gets far too much emphasis placed upon it, but that’s the measuring stick.
If Xander wants to reach that next level then he needs to continue taking the Red Sox by the reigns and improve upon his skills. He’ll need to get his defense a bit tighter and shave off a few errors. At the plate, there isn’t too much more he can do, maybe beef up that OBP and AVG. It’s hard to look at what Boegy did in 2019 and try to imagine him doing any more as what he did was pretty damn good.
Next. Red Sox showing little interest in upgrading their bullpen. dark
The Red Sox have a chance to contend in 2020 as their lineup is a murderer’s row of hitters. That charge will be led by Xander Bogaerts as he has a chance to take his momentum from last season to the stratosphere. If the shortstop continues to use his high-level work ethic this winter to improve on his game then the league better watch out. By the time awards season rolls around I can see Bogey finding his way to the MVP ballot.