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Red Sox: Ranking Boston’s Most Valuable Player chances for next season

By Rick McNair

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 4, 1967: Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox attempts to catch a fly ball during game one of the 1967 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals on October 4, 1967 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Dennis Brearley/Boston Red Sox)
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 4, 1967: Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox attempts to catch a fly ball during game one of the 1967 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals on October 4, 1967 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Dennis Brearley/Boston Red Sox) /
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BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 22: Xander Bogaerts #2 of the Boston Red Sox throws to first base during a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park on September 22, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – SEPTEMBER 22: Xander Bogaerts #2 of the Boston Red Sox throws to first base during a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park on September 22, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

Xander Bogaerts is the best Red Sox MVP bet for 2021

Xander Bogaerts has received votes in the past with a fifth-place finish in 2019 and an All-Star team – his second – and his third Silver Slugger Award. Bogaerts hit 33 home runs, had 117 RBI, and 110 runs scored in the last season before COVID-19 surfaced. Bogaerts is now demonstrating the power and run production predicted to surface since he came on the MLB scene as a 20-year-old.

What I have seen as underrated with Bogaerts is his base running ability.  Bogaerts has 61 career steals and nabbed just 14 times. On the basis, it is not necessarily the steals but the intelligence of what to do and when to do it.  In 2020 Bogaerts was a perfect eight for eight on steals.

In 2020 Bogaerts was sandwiched between Tim Anderson and Francisco Lindor with his 1.9 fWAR. Defensively Bogaerts has shown steady improvement and is no longer considered being moved to third base.  In 2020 Bogaerts’ 0.2 UZR/150 and a -5 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) can best be signaled as average. But being a shortstop is a position that gets extra attention and Bogaerts more than makes up his “average” defense with an above-average offense.

The hitting is the attention-getter to voters and if Bogaerts matches and exceeds 2019 he’ll be in a good position for MVP vote harvesting especially if the dreary 2020 Red Sox are replaced by a more vibrant product in 2021.

A plus that surfaces with Bogaerts is he is a class act on and off the field. Leadership can be demonstrative such as Dustin Pedroia or more subtle and that is Bogaerts who some consider a quasi captain of the team. Package it together – a winning season, power production, and leadership and Bogaerts is my favorite for 2021.

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