The days are short this time of year.
So is Red Sox fans’ patience.
Unlike recent, slower offseasons, most of the top free agents are already off the board, and none of them have joined the baseball team in Boston. Instead, the Sox lost Xander Bogaerts, and it now looks increasingly likely that Rafael Devers will follow him out to free agency at the end of the upcoming season.
Why wouldn’t Devers want to test free agency when he just saw the Bogaerts sign with the San Diego Padres for 11 years and $280M after getting a 6-year, $160M offer from the Sox? If a team is willing to give the 30-year-old shortstop that many years and that much money, the 26-year-old slugger’s ceiling just skyrocketed.
Before Bogaerts got his payday, several reports indicated that Devers wanted a deal in the 10-year, $300M vicinity. Dating back to last spring, the Sox have made him several much-lower offers, a strategy that didn’t work with Bogaerts or Mookie Betts. While it seemed like the two sides were inching closer together, ESPN painted a very different picture this week:
"According to multiple league sources, the Red Sox and Devers are “galaxies apart” in their contract negotiations. The current expectation from Devers and his camp is that the third baseman will be a free agent at the end of 2023, given the current state of contract talks."
Chaim Bloom says Red Sox will ‘go beyond reason’ to keep Rafael Devers
Bloom continues to maintain their commitment to Devers, recently going so far as to tell ESPN that they “probably” will ‘go beyond reason’ to try and keep the 26-year-old superstar.
"“We will probably, I think, go beyond reason to try to get this done. Hopefully we can get this done. There are always going to be limitations, like people can just put something plain out of reach. Some people love to bet on themselves and I hope he hits 63 homers if he does that.”"
Very encouraging.
Unsurprisingly, you won’t find a Sox fan on social media who believes him. Why should they? Bloom spent months claiming Xander Bogaerts was their top priority, “Option A,” and in the end, at least three teams outbid them by $40M or more. So of course, the general expectation is that Devers is gone. Fans are bracing themselves for a trade, defeated and demoralized by a series of decisions for which the brass has no excuses.
The fan base known as the Fenway Faithful has officially run out of faith.
Xander Bogaerts issues emotional farewell to Red Sox on Instagram
After signing a massive contract with the Padres, longtime Red Sox star and unofficial captain, Xander Bogaerts, said a heartfelt goodbye to fans.