Chaim Bloom understands Xander Bogaerts is not an ordinary player.
The Red Sox chief baseball officer acknowledged as much during a recent appearance on the "Bradfo Sho" podcast. Bloom admitted Bogaerts, who turns 30 on Saturday, is approaching a point in his career where organizations often consider moving on. However, that approach can't really be applied to a player who brings as much to the table as the Boston shortstop does.
Bogaerts caught wind of Bloom's high praise and shared his thoughts on the comments to WEEI's Rod Bradford.
"It makes you feel good that they see you in that way," Bogaerts told Bradford. "I love baseball, man. When I'm finished playing I go back home and I watch the games on the West Coast or whatever games are still left. Some guys play baseball and when they go home they do other stuff. I love baseball 24-7. I have said it multiple times, I hope I'm here for a long time because I enjoy it a lot."
Bogaerts soon will have to make an important decision, one that the four-time All-Start has "not even given any thought about" as the regular season winds down. Should he opt out of his contract, he'll punch his ticket to free agency and will hit the open market as one of the best players available.
