One former Boston Red Sox infielder believes the organization should prioritize contracts of their star infielders.
Joe McDonald of Worcester T&G Sports reported that ex-Red Sox John Valentin voiced his support of the organization bringing back shortstop Xander Bogaerts and third baseman Rafael Devers via contract extensions.
“They’re homegrown kids and they’re very good players,” Valentin said. “The Red Sox are a great organization and they’re in it to win it every year, so you have to try to sign the best players and hopefully they will sign the both of them.”
Valentin, who spent 10 of his 11 seasons as a big leaguer with Boston, was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2010. In 991 games played in a Boston uniform, Valentin batted .281 with 1,043 total hits, 121 home runs, and 528 RBIs.
Amid a rough 2022 season, Bogaerts and Devers have continued to display their dominance as two of baseball’s best infielders today — both representing the Red Sox in the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game back in July.
Bogaerts, in his 10th MLB season, entered Tuesday’s game against the Pirates batting .303/.373/.444 with nine home runs and 49 RBIs in 111 games played this season — along with a 3.8 WAR.
Devers, playing in year six of his big league career, entered Tuesday batting .305/.361/.577 with 25 homers and 62 RBIs in 99 games played for the Red Sox this year. The 25-year-old also has a 4.2 WAR.
