Former Red Sox Coach Slams Team After Botched Negotiations With Xander Bogaerts
The Boston Red Sox have had a confusing offseason, to say the least.
Boston entered the offseason by saying without a doubt that the team's top priority was re-signing four-time All-Star Xander Bogaerts. That didn't happen. The longtime Boston shortstop inked an 11-year, $285 million deal to sign with the San Diego Padres.
While the Red Sox not offering such a contract isn't too surprising, the fact that Bogaerts reached free agency in the first place is what is more troubling. Bogaerts is yet another homegrown star to be playing elsewhere. The 30-year-old two-time World Series champion joins Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, and Christian Vazquez as players no longer in Boston and third baseman Rafael Devers very likely could join the club if the Red Sox don't alter their contract negotiation tactics.
Red Sox fans aren't the only people surprised by Boston's latest moves.
Former Red Sox coach Ruben Amaro slammed the team after their handling of Bogaerts on MLB Network's MLB Now.
"I have no idea what's happening, I am in shock, Scott," Amaro said on MLB Now. "When you lose a guy who is a generational type of player in Mookie Betts and then you back it up by losing probably one of the most popular players in Bogaerts -- guys who have had rings on their fingers. These are homegrown guys that you've built with, lived with, and grown up with...I just don't know what they're doing in Boston."
Who knows what the Red Sox will do next, but there are plenty of eyes on the team.
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