The Boston Red Sox held a press conference on Monday night to formally discuss the contract extension of shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who officially inked a six-year, $120 million deal Monday afternoon.
Each and every player has different motivations for their decision making, but following Monday’s media availability, it was pretty clear why the shortstop decided to sign a long-term contract extension with the Red Sox.
Right from the start the press conference, Bogaerts spoke about his love for Boston, the organization, and how much more this group has left in the tank.
The 26-year-old put it in pretty simple terms: “I want to be here. What’s not to like?
“Me being here for a while, it’s a place any and everyone would want to play and stay.”
Bogaerts signed with the Red Sox as an amateur free agent out of Aruba in 2009 before making his major league debut with the team in 2013. The shortstop has played in 763 games over seven seasons with Boston, hitting .283 with 75 home runs and 387 RBI’s.
Bogaerts’ extension is the second major deal in the last two weeks for the Red Sox, as the team re-upped Chris Sale for five years last week. The infielder was set to hit free agency after the 2019 season, so getting this done before that point was an important note on Boston’s to-do list.
