Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said at the beginning of the Major League Baseball offseason that trading Rafael Devers was not on Boston's radar.
And nothing has changed in that regard, according to Bloom, despite Devers not yet signing a contract extension and former franchise cornerstone Xander Bogaerts recently leaving the Red Sox in free agency.
"Yes, they should. I still feel that way," Bloom told The Boston Globe's Alex Speier on Tuesday of whether people still should assume the Red Sox won't trade Devers before Opening Day. "He is at the center of everything we're trying to do. We know that it's never easy to compete in the American League East. It certainly won't be in 2023 and it certainly wouldn't be without him."
So, does that mean the Red Sox still are working toward an extension with the All-Star third baseman?
"(Extending Devers is) something we very much have wanted to do. We very much continue to hope to be able to extend," Bloom told Speier. "We're going to keep trying and we're really hopeful we can align."
Devers is set to become a free agent after the 2023 season. His importance to the Red Sox can't be overstated, especially in wake of Bogaerts' departure, and Boston undoubtedly would face stiff competition if Devers reached the open market.
As such, it would behoove the Red Sox to lock up Devers for the foreseeable future sooner rather than later. That's obviously easier said than done, though. It takes two to tango, and this winter's spending spree across MLB could increase Devers' earning potential if he ultimately reaches free agency after another excellent season.
Devers, an All-Star in two straight seasons, is coming off a 2022 in which he slashed .295/.358/.521 with 27 home runs, 88 RBIs and a career-best 141 OPS+.
