Here's Eight Teams Reportedly In Pursuit Of Red Sox's Xander Bogaerts

There will be a lot of movement in the shortstop market

Scott Neville | Sep 30, 2022

Here's Eight Teams Reportedly In Pursuit Of Red Sox's Xander Bogaerts /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are expected to have a franchise-altering offseason coming up with multiple members of their core expected to enter free agency -- none more prominent than shortstop Xander Bogaerts.

While Bogaerts hasn't ruled out reaching an agreement with Boston before season's end, it doesn't appear to be remotely possible with under a week left to go. Now it's being reported that the market for premier shortstops is going to be a large one, as expected.

"The (St. Louis) Cardinals, (San Francisco) Giants, (Philadelphia) Phillies and (Chicago) Cubs are among teams that could join the Red Sox, (Los Angeles) Dodgers, (Atlanta) Braves and (Minnesota) Twins in pursuit of one of the big free-agent shortstops -- Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson, Carlos Correa or Xander Bogaerts (Correa and Bogaerts will be opting out)," the New York Post's Jon Heyman wrote Thursday.

Arguably the most notable aspect of Heyman's report is the noted absence of the New York Yankees, who reportedly are content withdrawing from the shortstop sweepstakes for the second year in a row.

Bogaerts is hitting .309 with 38 doubles, 14 home runs, 69 RBIs and a .836 OPS in 146 games. The 29-year-old's 5.6 WAR ranks first among free-agent shortstops and No. 16 in Major League Baseball this season.

Of the eight teams, it's safe to assume that some will have either Correa, Turner or Swanson ahead of Bogey on their priority lists, but the unofficial captain of the Red Sox will be on the radar of any smart organization.

Should Bogaerts enter free agency following the five-day exclusive negotiation window, Boston appears to have stiff competition for his services. Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom claimed to want Bogaerts in Boston for the rest of his career. Fans will have to hope he's true to his word.

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Published Sep 30, 2022

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu