Biggest Question For Red Sox Is Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts Future
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Will the Boston Red Sox keep the two faces of their franchise around? Both players could be gone in two years' time.
There are plenty of questions surrounding the Red Sox after a last-place finish in the American League East, but ESPN's Bradford Doolittle asked the biggest of them all: Is the long-term future going to include Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, both or neither?
"Boston (chief baseball officer) Chaim Bloom has already said the Red Sox are ready to spend big, claiming that now they have the minor league depth to make that kind of strategy plausible," Doolittle wrote Tuesday.
"The thinking is the Red Sox can take on some big contracts now, while filling the gaps on the roster with talented young players who won't eat up a lot of payroll. But the key question is whether or not that means starting that spending spree by keeping their current franchise cornerstones in place."
The Red Sox brass has said all the right things regarding both players, but the focus has been on Bogaerts, as his contract situation is much more pressing.
Bloom spoke about wanting to keep Bogaerts in Boston for the rest of his career, while Red Sox manager Alex Cora said they are preparing as if he will return next season.
If the Red Sox truly want to secure Bogaerts to a long-term deal, they should do so swiftly. There is expected to be a large market for premier shortstops, with at least eight teams reportedly in on the action.
As for Devers, the longer they wait, the more likely it will be that Devers will end up in another uniform just a few years after superstar outfielder Mookie Betts was shipped off to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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