Red Sox extend Devers—11 years, $332 million

[CreightonGubanich]

The article on ESPN says:

"The contract will start in 2023 and extend through the 2033 season, sources said. The one-year, $17.5 million contract Devers signed earlier in the week to avoid arbitration will be superseded by the long-term deal."

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35380017/rafael-devers-boston-red-sox-finalizing-11-year-331m-extension

That would be somewhat surprising and contradicts earlier reports.

 

[LogansDad]

Really? Why wouldn’t they combine it to blend the two?

Because they need to stay under the threshold this year and they likely still need to add a couple players. That's why they signed the arbitration avoiding deal first.

 

[Yo La Tengo]

It's 11/331, and it starts after the 1/17.5 arb deal signed yesterday. So in '23, his AAV will be 17.5m and from '24-'34, it will be a tic over 30m.

Passan is reporting the following at ESPN:

"The contract will start in 2023 and extend through the 2033 season, sources said. The one-year, $17.5 million contract Devers signed earlier in the week to avoid arbitration will be superseded by the long-term deal."

 

[nvalvo]

Really? Why wouldn’t they combine it to blend the two?

Likely because they want to get under the cap for this year, and then intend to go over again for the next 3 or so.

 

[LogansDad]

The article on ESPN says:

"The contract will start in 2023 and extend through the 2033 season, sources said. The one-year, $17.5 million contract Devers signed earlier in the week to avoid arbitration will be superseded by the long-term deal."

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35380017/rafael-devers-boston-red-sox-finalizing-11-year-331m-extension

That would be somewhat surprising and contradicts earlier reports.

Or, I could just be an idiot. This makes less sense to me.

 

[nvalvo]

Passan is reporting the following at ESPN:

"The contract will start in 2023 and extend through the 2033 season, sources said. The one-year, $17.5 million contract Devers signed earlier in the week to avoid arbitration will be superseded by the long-term deal."

Oh! That's not what I've read, but if that's the case then this is an even better deal IMO.

Edited to add: If we really just extended him through his age 36 season, this is really great given the way the market turned this offseason. He would have gotten three more years as an FA.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

After they inexplicably failed to get under the tax last season I have a hard time predicting what they want or plan to do regarding it moving forward.

 

[nvalvo]

View: https://twitter.com/alexspeier/status/1610772974415527937

 

[DeadlySplitter]

That eats up about half of our remaining number under the first tax line for this season, then. On the other hand, the deal expires just as he turns 37, which is really early looking at other megadeals.

View: https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1610774487934320640

 

[Minneapolis Millers]

They’re not getting under the tax this season…

 

[Saints Rest]

Really? Why wouldn’t they combine it to blend the two?

Luxury tax reset in 2023.

 

[chawson]

Wow, through age 36 is excellent. Still very likely he's a plus hitter at that point. Contract ends when he's four years younger than Bogaerts would be on his contract.

 

[BoSox Rule]

Even better than if the 11 years includes this coming year. They always get this shit wrong to be first.

 

[Rusty13]

Oh! That's not what I've read, but if that's the case then this is an even better deal IMO.

Well not in terms of the lux tax threshold for this year though. But that's just money!

 

[cannonball 1729]

Will he be able to stay off the empanadas? (I read that's what ruined Tigger Cabrera)

Cabrera was felled by arepas, if I recall correctly.

 

[8slim]

Fannnnntastic!

i have little doubt that the Sox became more motivated to get this done after the X blowback. Not that they wouldn’t have gotten it done, but I suspect they recognized that acting urgently was needed, given current market conditions.

 

[JOBU]

I said Devers would be a borderline HOF candidate with that track record; Cabrera should finish just shy of 70 WAR, which is pretty much a lock for the Hall IMO.

Cabrera is definitely a HOF lock. First ballot. 500 hrs and 3000 hits.

I think Devers has a good shot to make it as well if he stays healthy.

 

[TapeAndPosts]

Speier saying no opt outs. So we won't have a repeat of the X situation in three years.

11 years through 2033 is even better.

 

[CaptainLaddie]

I did not expect this. At all. I saw the Passan tweet and had to triple check to make sure it wasn't a sucker-blue check trolling.

 

[johnlos]

So you are looking for the downside here?

Also Devers had his career best year in 2021, so I don't know how his price was lower then.

CBA changed everything. Also a year of proof that Americans don’t care about COVID. So yes a better deal could have been worked out last year but it would have taken some foresight.

As for Devers’ value, his defense took a notable step up (at least according to fangraphs…fielding bible is less optimistic), so even if his two month post ASG slump crushed his averages I’d argue he’s potentially more valuable now than after 2021. Before ASG he was 3rd in OPS+ iirc too so easy to dream on his peak.

 

[bsj]

Watching them talk about this on MLB Network. Peavy really loves the Red Sox.

 

[A Bad Man]

Hand was forced. Glad to have it done.

 

[Pedroia's Itchy Nose]

I feel pretty medium about this. Glad to have Raffy on the team in the near term, pessimistic about the long term as per most contracts of this sort. Hope it goes well, and hope it earns the FO some good will. I suppose this precludes making a big run at Ohtani or Soto which makes me a bit sad, but bird in the hand indeed.

Relieved they locked up at least one of Mookie, Xander, and Raffy. Now they'll be judged if they picked correctly.

Well, Mookie is by far the best overall player of the three, but each player's situations were different. For THIS offseason, I said all along that if given the choice between signing X or Raffy to a long term deal, it was Raffy in a landslide. Glad the Sox felt the same way.

This is HUGE.

Agree with @BaseballJones here re: Devers vs X. In a vacuum I'd put my money on Mookie for a ton of reasons, but I don't think it's fair to make the judgment in a vacuum. If we retained Mookie we almost certainly wouldn't have Mayer. Now maybe Mayer doesn't pan out, but regardless of how that goes I doubt many people will take it into consideration when judging the FO on Mookie vs. Devers.

 

[chrisfont9]

Fannnnntastic!

i have little doubt that the Sox became more motivated to get this done after the X blowback. Not that they wouldn’t have gotten it done, but I suspect they recognized that acting urgently was needed, given current market conditions.

Hopefully much more of the latter -- the market is going crazy -- than the former -- people are mad at us.

 

[ehaz]

Likely because they want to get under the cap for this year, and then intend to go over again for the next 3 or so.

Well not in terms of the lux tax threshold for this year though. But that's just money!

Could they even do that though? If it was 11/$331M after this year's arb deal I'm pretty sure per the CBA they would just be aggregated anyways and count at 12/$348.5 no matter what but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

No opt outs and having the deal end when he’s 36 seems like a huge victory for the team.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Thrilled. Can't believe they got him.

 

[The_Powa_of_Seiji_Ozawa]

Cheapo Bloom once again trying to show how clever he is. Woohoo!

But now the players will have to start paying for soda in the clubhouse. And the post-game buffet spreads will be replaced by brown bag sandwiches.

 

[chrisfont9]

CBA changed everything. Also a year of proof that Americans don’t care about COVID. So yes a better deal could have been worked out last year but it would have taken some foresight.

As for Devers’ value, his defense took a notable step up (at least according to fangraphs…fielding bible is less optimistic), so even if his two month post ASG slump crushed his averages I’d argue he’s potentially more valuable now than after 2021. Before ASG he was 3rd in OPS+ iirc too so easy to dream on his peak.

Yeah, good points

 

[mjs]

Excited and relieved that they got this done! It is a boatload of money and it may end poorly, but this is what it takes in 2023 to keep a top-5 bat in the lineup through his prime. If Raffy was not extended and had a solid 2023 he would have gotten 400K as free agent next year (Ohtani and he were projected to be the top 2 in the FA class).
But the best part is my 88-yo mother will be able to keep rooting for her favorite (sometimes goofy) Red Sox player, which makes me happy.

“The play is already done. I don’t need to rush and get up right away, so I just take my time,” Devers said through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “Nobody is waiting for me, so I’m taking some time for myself.” Boston Globe.

 

[SouthernBoSox]

Yea, age 36 at 30 AAV seems incredibly reasonable.

You have a cornerstone player. Build. Built it.

 

[CarolinaBeerGuy]

This makes me very happy.

 

[Minneapolis Millers]

Someone made the point that he might have been the 2d best FA hitter next year after Ohtani (and maybe Machado?). That kind of guy likely gets paid.

 

[simplicio]

I gotta say, of all the mega deals signed this winter, Raffy's is the one I'd most like my team to have signed. I'm happy with this.

 

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

Awesome work. Love this deal.

 

[8slim]

Hopefully much more of the latter -- the market is going crazy -- than the former -- people are mad at us.

I think it’s both, honestly. Henry has a history of allowing some moves to be made, in part, based on the dynamic of fan sentiment/appeal (it’s Pablo Sandoval, everyone).

And that’s OK. If the blowback to X leaving lit a fire under the front office to get things done with Devers, then good. It’s a good move. Dicking around to play hardball clearly isn’t always the best strategy.

 

[ElcaballitoMVP]

Let's go! Did not expect Devers to sign, but man this is great news.

 

[brienc]

Very pleasantly surprised to find out that Devers will be playing at Fenway for the foreseeable future.

 

[sodenj5]

Someone made the point that he might have been the 2d best FA hitter next year after Ohtani (and maybe Machado?). That kind of guy likely gets paid.

I would assume Devers’ bat and youth likely get him a better deal than Machado.

Devers will probably finish this contract at first base or DH, but the bat has been elite in stints where he’s healthy.

I think it’s a win for both sides. If Devers stays healthy, I think this deal ages better than Xander’s by a significant margin.

 

[Papo The Snow Tiger]

Watching the intro to the Winter Classic on TNT Monday I couldn't help but wonder if there's ever be another great, career long Red Sox. Now we have Raffy for a long time to come. Count me amongst the very happy right now!

 

[Pablo's TB Lover]

This is fantastic. The Sox had to outlay almost as much as he would have gotten as a FA a year early, but good job by Chaim keeping opt outs and no trade clause out of the deal. If this included opt outs on the schedule of Bogaerts it would be foolish to think that Devers would not be productive enough from ages 26-28 to opt out and put us through a possible Xander repeat.

 

[nvalvo]

It's also possible that there's a different causal link from Bogaerts -> Devers, in which the FO realized after the Bogaerts bidding got away from them that the post-CBA market was more robust than they had expected, and thus that Devers' >$300m asking price was closer to reasonable than they'd been assuming.

 

[RedOctober3829]

This move is nice but was required in order for ownership from looking like a total disaster. Now let’s go add to this lineup.

 

[nvalvo]

Speier says this dude was first:

View: https://twitter.com/Moisesdeportes1/status/1610446107674349569

 

[JM3]

I said prior to the off season my max would be 12/$363m, before the contract explosion, so I can't be mad about this. Also, most of these mega deals include some kind of no trade, so that's nice (very few include opt outs).

Feel fairly vindicated on lots of levels tbh. When it's time to invest, it's time to invest. Just hope he proves us right that he was the right person to invest in.

 

[chrisfont9]

I think it’s both, honestly. Henry has a history of allowing some moves to be made, in part, based on the dynamic of fan sentiment/appeal (it’s Pablo Sandoval, everyone).

And that’s OK. If the blowback to X leaving lit a fire under the front office to get things done with Devers, then good. It’s a good move. Dicking around to play hardball clearly isn’t always the best strategy.

It's probably true, from what we know, that Henry feels the pressure. But at the same time it may also be true that it didn't factor in much if at all compared to the team's need to sign him before he hit the open market next year. Honestly, I am amazed he wasn't all locked in on that and turning down anything below $400.

One of the related impacts of this deal is how now Chaim can do his thing, looking for bargains and taking short-term chances on guys to fill in around the core. It's like getting your rotation ace back and pushing everyone's roles down a slot. Just huge help across the board.

 

[Dim13]

This move is nice but was required in order for ownership from looking like a total disaster. Now let’s go add to this lineup.

Completely agree with this. It was a deal they couldn’t afford not to do. But more is needed to compete. That said, I’m happy with the deal and glad they pulled it off.

 

[brandonchristensen]

Wow. Genuinely shocked this happened.

 

[drbretto]

I can't believe I've lived to see a day here where an 11 year, 331 million dollar contract didn't cause a complete existential meltdown.

 

[canderson]

I’ve been verrrrry down on Bloom and the overall wtf moves they’ve made the last 36 months. This deal makes sense, seems fair and helps the team. They need a lot more to be competitive, but it’s a start I hope.