One of the many questions facing the Red Sox this offseason is whether Xander Bogaerts will return to Boston.
The All-Star shortstop can opt out of his deal this winter and test the free agent market. The Red Sox and Bogaerts did not come to terms on an agreement before the season and his agent, Scott Boras, said they don't want to discuss anything in-season. Though Bogaerts said he'd be open to doing as much, a deal never got done.
Still, that doesn't mean he won't return to the only organization Bogaerts has ever known in his Major League Baseball career. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has expressed his interest in bringing Bogaerts back and manager Alex Cora has said he wants him in a Red Sox uniform for many years to come.
Bloom provided a bit of insight as to why a deal hasn't gotten done yet during his appearance on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" on Thursday.
"It's a question of finding the right deal. We have a couple guys that -- I get asked this a lot -- that we want to find those right deals with. Obviously we haven't yet or we'd have an agreement, but we still want to. And it's obviously a question of finding a way to have really both those guys here on deals that are going to work out for everybody."
Nathan Eovaldi and J.D. Martinez are among those on expiring contracts, as well, and it probably would be smart for the Red Sox to extend Rafael Devers sooner rather than later.
It figures to be a busy offseason for Bloom and company and if he truly did promise Kiké Hernández a better team in 2023 than in 2022, locking up Bogaerts should be at the top of his priority list.
