Despite reports that the Boston Red Sox planned to offer Rafael Devers a contract extension before opening day, the third baseman says he hasn’t yet engaged in that conversation with the team.
He did, however, tell MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, via team translator Bryan Almonte, that he’s open to that long-term deal Saturday.
“I’m not really focused on that right now,” Devers said “If it comes, it comes. That would be great. But I’m just focused on right now. We haven’t had discussions about that yet. My agent hasn’t told me anything. As of now, I’m just focused on playing the game.”
There isn’t necessarily a rush, given the busy offseason the Red Sox have had and the fact that Devers is under the team’s control through 2020. He has three years of arbitration beginning in 2021 before becoming an unrestricted free agent after 2023.
But with the promise the 21-year-old has already shown, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to lock him up.
