Here's When Red Sox's Chaim Bloom Aims To Reach New Deal With Xander Bogaerts

If all goes well for Bloom, Bogaerts won't reach free agency

Scott Neville | Oct 6, 2022

Here's When Red Sox's Chaim Bloom Aims To Reach New Deal With Xander Bogaerts /

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Boston Red Sox

Less than 24 hours after Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts stepped off the field for the final time in 2022, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom mapped out his timeline for retaining the 30-year-old slugger.

Bloom was asked if Bogaerts was the number one priority of the offseason at the end-of-season press conference, and had some strong remarks.

"Yeah, just because of the timing of his free agency,” Bloom told reporters, as seen on NESN's broadcast Thursday. "Until after the World Series, there’s a lot of other things we can plan for but not do, you know? This is something we can work on right away."

He was then asked if the Red Sox brass would like to reach a new deal before Bogaerts officially opts out of his current deal (which would occur within five days following the conclusion of the World Series, during the exclusive portion of free agency).

"Yeah I mean look, that’s no different from where we’ve been; our position hasn’t changed on that,” Bloom said. "I know, and I've said this before, nothing I say really matters unless there's a deal. But our position has been the same, we want to keep him here for a long time and we want him here on a deal that we're going to look back on and say this is great for everybody.

"We just got to the end of one of those with J.D. (Martinez) and I think everybody can feel that, that one worked out for everybody involved. We want to build around (Bogaerts) and with him."

The quote came minutes after Bloom said he would start to put a deal with Bogaerts together "right away." He also claimed to want to build around superstar third baseman Rafael Devers, citing that it would be a huge step back to let the 25-year-old walk after his contract expires at the conclusion of the 2023 season.

To keep true to his word, Bloom will need to sign both Bogaerts and Devers long-term, which could be a lofty task.

There reportedly are eight teams in the market for Bogaerts already and as you can imagine, Devers will garner plenty of attention as well if the time comes.

More MLB: Red Sox's Process To Sign Xander Bogaerts 'Going To Start Right Away'

Published Oct 6, 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