Philadelphia Phillies Likely to Pursue Xander Bogaerts in Free Agency
The Philadelphia Phillies are expected to pursue current Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts in free agency this upcoming winter. This is something Inside the Phillies hypothesized months ago, but now Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe is confirming that the Phillies are indeed interested.
Bogaerts makes sense for the Phillies as the team has already moved on from Didi Gregorius and Jean Segura's $17 million option is unlikely to be picked up. That leaves open the door for rookie Bryson Stott to begin his sophomore campaign at second base where he has shown he can excel.
That would mean a high-dollar free agent like Bogaerts would be a very real possibility to take over the shortstop position for Philadelphia. Bogaerts is likely to opt out of his contract this offseason which would still have three-years and $60 million left on it.
Considering the Phillies are currently spending $19 and $20 million a year on Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, respectively, it makes sense for them to open the pocket book for a premium player at a premium position like Bogaerts.
The free agent market will once again be a busy one for the Phillies who have shown they are not afraid to go over the luxury tax threshold and have plenty of salary coming off the payroll this winter.
It opens up the possibility that even more star power could be added to this already star-studded lineup.
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