Biggest Question For Red Sox Is Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts Future

The Red Sox core could be totally revamped

Scott Neville | Oct 5, 2022

Biggest Question For Red Sox Is Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts Future /

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Boston Red Sox

Will the Boston Red Sox keep the two faces of their franchise around? Both players could be gone in two years' time.

There are plenty of questions surrounding the Red Sox after a last-place finish in the American League East, but ESPN's Bradford Doolittle asked the biggest of them all: Is the long-term future going to include Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, both or neither?

"Boston (chief baseball officer) Chaim Bloom has already said the Red Sox are ready to spend big, claiming that now they have the minor league depth to make that kind of strategy plausible," Doolittle wrote Tuesday.

"The thinking is the Red Sox can take on some big contracts now, while filling the gaps on the roster with talented young players who won't eat up a lot of payroll. But the key question is whether or not that means starting that spending spree by keeping their current franchise cornerstones in place."

The Red Sox brass has said all the right things regarding both players, but the focus has been on Bogaerts, as his contract situation is much more pressing.

Bloom spoke about wanting to keep Bogaerts in Boston for the rest of his career, while Red Sox manager Alex Cora said they are preparing as if he will return next season.

If the Red Sox truly want to secure Bogaerts to a long-term deal, they should do so swiftly. There is expected to be a large market for premier shortstops, with at least eight teams reportedly in on the action.

As for Devers, the longer they wait, the more likely it will be that Devers will end up in another uniform just a few years after superstar outfielder Mookie Betts was shipped off to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Published Oct 5, 2022

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu