Even before the Red Sox seek improvements from outside their organization, they acknowledged that retaining two of their own stars top their off-season to-do list. Xander Bogaerts can opt out of his current contract after the World Series, and Rafael Devers is under control for just one more season.
Addressing the Bogaerts matter first, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Thursday: "I never want to make public the blow-by-blow of negotiations. But what I can say is that that process is going to start right away.''
https://www.bostonsportsjournal.com/2022/10/06/mcadam-red-sox-identify-re-signing-bogaerts-and-extending-devers-as-top-priorities-ownership-has-met-recently-with-bogaertsIn fact, multiple sources have told BostonSportsJournal.com that it already has. The Red Sox have wasted little time getting to work on getting a new deal done with Bogaerts. The team, including principal owner John Henry and team chairman Tom Werner, has met with Bogaerts "several times,'' in the last week, a source said.
One source said no new proposals were exchanged at the meetings, which were conducted without the presence of Bogaerts' agent, Scott Boras. Rather, the meetings were held to emphasize to Bogaerts that the team wants to retain him and will make him its top priority.
Bogaerts is due to return home to Aruba within days, but his travel plans have been somewhat scuttled by forecasts of a tropical storm in the Caribbean. As late as Thursday night, there remained the possibility that the two sides could meet again before Bogaerts leaves Boston to return home. But by Thursday morning, another meeting seemed unlikely due to logistics.
At a press conference at Fenway in the aftermath of the team's last-place finish in the American League East, team president and CEO Sam Kennedy and Bloom made the team's priorities known.
Kind of shocking this is only being learned now.... and has not leaked prior to this