Red Sox's Process To Sign Xander Bogaerts 'Going To Start Right Away'
Was Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts' mid-game farewell all for naught? The majority of the fanbase would hope so, and as it turns out, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom would agree.
Bloom was asked about retaining Bogaerts and was very upfront about his interest in bringing his shortstop back long term.
"I don't want to make public any of the blow-by-blow but what I can say is, that process is going to start right away from our end," Bloom told reporters, as seen on NESN's broadcast Thursday. "Obviously we know we haven't found that path yet, we still want to and we're going to work really hard at it."
We know one thing for sure, the average annual value is going to exceed the $20 million price tag Bogaerts is on the books for until he officially opts out of his current deal.
As one of the premier shortstops in the game, he'll likely be chasing $30 million for somewhere in the five to six year range. It's tough to say whether Bloom will be willing to possibly "overpay" to retain the unofficial captain of the Red Sox, but all of Boston's decision-makers are saying the right things.
Bloom made it clear that he wants to keep Bogaerts in Boston for the rest of his career, while manager Alex Cora said they are preparing as if he will return next season.
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