The Boston Red Sox have made contract offers to “several players” this Major League Baseball offseason, according to team president and CEO Sam Kennedy.
Those players include Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers.
Kennedy on Wednesday shared an update on where things stand between the Red Sox and their homegrown superstars, telling The Boston Globe’s Michael Silverman the organization recently sweetened its offer to Bogaerts — the second offer made to the shortstop since the 2022 season ended — and made an extension offer to Devers not long after the MLB campaign’s final out.
Bogaerts is a free agent this offseason after opting out of his contract with the Red Sox. Devers is set to become a free agent next winter. Both players, obviously, have been integral parts of Boston’s lineup in recent years while holding down the left side of the infield.
“We’ve been engaged with Xander since the end of this season, and Scott (Boras), his agent, and I’ll leave it at that,” Kennedy told Silverman. “But we’ve had productive conversations.”
Bogaerts, who had three years and $60 million remaining on his deal, figures to command a nine-figure payday on the open market. The Red Sox extended a qualifying offer — valued at $19.65 million for one year — to Bogaerts and pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, but both players rejected, meaning Boston will receive draft-pick compensation if either player leaves in free agency.
Bogaerts is one of four high-profile shortstops available in free agency this offseason, joining Carlos Correa, Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson. The class also includes superstar outfielder Aaron Judge and several big-name starters, including Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander and Carlos Rodón.
Devers remains under contract for 2023, so the Red Sox don’t necessarily need to sign the third baseman before Opening Day. But he’s a young, proven franchise cornerstone, and it’d be risky to enter next season without him locked up for the foreseeable future, as he presumably would draw a ton of interest from other clubs if he reached free agency.
