While the Boston Red Sox season reached its end, back on Oct. 5, questions looming over the future of shortstop Xander Bogaerts remain in place.
One of Bogaerts’ teammates last season, southpaw starting pitcher Rich Hill, addressed that very topic.
Joining WEEI’s Rob Bradford for an installment of Audacy Sports’ “The Bradfo Sho,” Hill vouched for his teammate of two seasons claiming the 30-year-old “should be a Red Sox for life.”
“He’s probably one of the best teammates I’ve ever played with,” Hill told Bradford. “And I think that the value in that alone. … In my opinion, yes. He should be a Red Sox for life. And it is something that — the movement in the game that has happened so frequently. Kids become connected to a player, and now I’m just speaking as far as like the health of the game and the growing of the game. … And then all of a sudden, I’m a big Xander Bogaerts fan as a kid, and all of a sudden he gets traded or he signs somewhere else as a free agent. Now you lose that kind of connection to the team and to the player.”
Bogaerts, who was named an American League Gold Glove Award finalist, has the opportunity to opt out of his current six-year, $120 million dollar deal with the Red Sox and test out the free agent market. In his latest campaign with Boston, Bogaerts batted .307/.377/.456 with 15 home runs, 38 doubles and 73 RBIs in 150 games played.
“As far as a guy that you can keep in the clubhouse and maintain, in Xander Bogaerts, you’re not gonna find a better guy,” Hill said.
The 42-year-old big league veteran, Hill, also revealed a recent meeting with Red Sox front office members, discussing the outlook of his future with the organization. After 19 seasons, Hill will be 43 years old, before 2023 Major League Baseball Opening Day.
