Xander Bogaerts has entered the chat.
After weeks of radio silence, the now-free agent took to Instagram to share a photo and a cryptic message on his IG stories:
"“I never dreamed about successs, I worked for it”"
Xander with the subtweet (sub-gram?) of the century pic.twitter.com/wpEDWIQxAo
— BoSox Injection (@BoSoxInjection) November 30, 2022
Xander Bogaerts sends cryptic message on social media amidst report he severed ties with Red Sox
Bogaerts is an infrequent social media user. His last Instagram post was almost a year ago, on December 4, 2021. And he’s not usually one for cryptic or pointed messages.
Red Sox Nation will spend hours reading into this. Is the extra ‘s’ in “success” a typo or hidden message? Does the red watch have meaning? Did he choose this photo because it looks like he’s sitting at a negotiating table?
The photo is from the Boston chapter’s annual BBWAA Awards Dinner in January 2020. Red Sox head of photography, Billie Weiss, took these portraits of Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, Triston Casas, Michael Chavis, and Marcus Walden, all honored at the event. Casas uses his portrait as his profile picture on Twitter.
Bogaerts. Xander Bogaerts. pic.twitter.com/WSdjuTyApL
— Red Sox (@RedSox) January 17, 2020
It’s noteworthy that this post comes hours after legendary sportswriter Peter Gammons tweeted that he’d heard from three teams that Bogaerts has “severed Boston ties,” which feels like something his agent, Scott Boras would spread around:
As Ever,fact, but but while one doubts Bogaerts would switch positions, in the past three days front office folks from 3 teams claim they’ve been told he has severed Boston ties and won’t be going back. Whether that’s negotiating leverage talk or reality, there’s no confirmation. https://t.co/rKJCF5JxAy
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) November 30, 2022
Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy moved somewhat quickly to counter Gammons’ report, telling Chris Cotillo that they are still engaged with Bogaerts:
Sam Kennedy says Red Sox are still engaged with Xander Bogaerts and that no doors have been closed there.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) November 30, 2022
The public has no clue what’s happening behind the scenes, but one thing is clear: Bogaerts is echoing sentiments he’s expressed in the past. He wants what he’s earned through hard work. He’s not demanding anything other than what he’s proven he deserves.
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