Xander Bogaerts poised to make Red Sox history tonight in Oakland

Xander Bogaerts will make Red Sox history tonight against the A’s

It’s hard to think about the Red Sox and not have an image of Xander Bogaerts come to mind. The slugging shortstop has been a foundation for the club for nearly a decade now and tonight, his durability will be rewarded. When he steps onto the field in Oakland tonight, he will become the longest-tenured shortstop in team history.

The record is currently held by Red Sox legend Everett Scott and has been in place since 1921, that’s right, Bogey is about to snap a 100+ year record. Scott played a total of 1,093 games at shortstop in his career and tonight will mark game #1,094 for Xander, per NESN’s Lauren Campbell.

It’s a huge accomplishment for Bogey, especially when you look back through history and all of the names that have played that position. This is just another chapter in the story that is Xander’s Red Sox career. The uncrowned captain is a 3x All-Star, 4x Silver Slugger, and 2x World Series Champion. Now he can add most games played by a shortstop in Red Sox history. Simply put, wow.

As we all know, Xander has a bit of a cloud hanging over his head right now as his future is very much up in the air. While it’s pretty clear he wants to stay and the Red Sox want him to stay, the two sides haven’t been able to come to terms on a new contract. With a guaranteed opt-out and pending free agency approaching quickly, every game and accomplishment feels more and more special for the X-Man.

Once again, Bogey is one of the hottest hitters on the team and isn’t slowing down anytime soon. He currently owns a .323/.393/.866 line with five homers and 23 RBI. He’s had a few games here and there lately where he hasn’t quite mashed but the consistency is still there and he often bounces right back.  With a 10-game west coast stretch starting tonight in Oakland, he’ll have some serious chances to push those numbers even further.

I’m not sure what the Red Sox are doing in regards to Xander. Too many in the fandom are already treating this similar to the Mookie Betts saga and it couldn’t be more different. One wanted to go to free agency, get paid huge, and seemingly wanted to be elsewhere. The other has time and time again said he doesn’t want to leave and simply wants to be paid closer to what his value actually is.

While Bogaerts’ agent, Scott Boras, is firm on his stance of not negotiating until the season ends, the guy he works for sure seems open to listening to legitimate offers. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a member of the Red Sox tell Boras to just get a deal done and it may not be the last. My hope is that Chaim Bloom and FSG wake up and approach X with a contract that makes him happy and will see him spend his entire career at Fenway Park.

2022 has been pretty good to Bogey up to this point and as much as I wish he’d be earning this honor in Boston, it’s still awesome. The Red Sox have been playing far better as of late and a big reason for the better results is Bogaerts. If Boston wants to turn this season around and make a run at October baseball they’ll need him to continue producing as he has been. At the end of the day, if I had to pick anyone to be the longest-tenured shortstop in Sox history, it’d be Xander.