Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts feels a little more relaxed now when he comes to the ballpark.
That’s due to chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom being adamant recently that he doesn’t have any plans of involving Bogaerts in trade discussions with the Major League Baseball trade deadline looming on Aug. 2.
Bogaerts not only heard the comments Bloom made, but the star shortstop told reporters following Boston’s 4-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, in which he delivered a crucial three-run home run in the sixth inning, that he has been told that personally as well.
And with that news, it has taken a little weight off Bogaerts’ shoulders while dealing with the pressure the trade deadline creates.
“I think I started playing better after that, right?” Bogaerts said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “It’s a little, I want to say relief is a good word. It’s obviously more relaxing going out there. It’s not like you want to win every game on your own. … I just feel like it makes for more freedom.
“Pretty much this is my first time really dealing with it. I know I had a couple years ago in the 2020 season. COVID on its own is a distraction to that. This is actually my first time really, really dealing with this. It’s been up and down. But it’s been good.”
Bogaerts said leading up to the trade deadline can be “really tough,” but he understands it comes with the territory.
While Bloom doesn’t want to put any labels on the Red Sox with the trade deadline near, Bogaerts would like to see the team stick together, especially with a healthy amount of internal reinforcements on the way.
“I know we have a lot of help coming on the way,” Bogaerts said. “That’s like a trade deadline on its own. You got (Trevor) Story, Raffy (Devers), Kiké (Hernández), (Christian) Arroyo not too far away, and obviously we need J.D. (Martinez) back (to form) because J.D. is a game-changer.”
