Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Already Preparing For Xander Bogaerts' Departure With Backup Plan

Is Boston already moving on from Bogaerts?

Scott Neville

Red Sox Already Preparing For Xander Bogaerts' Departure With Backup Plan
Red Sox Already Preparing For Xander Bogaerts' Departure With Backup Plan /
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The Boston Red Sox have a very uncertain future at one of the most prominent positions in the sport, as the unofficial captain of the team heads for the open market.

One day after star shortstop Xander Bogaerts opted out of his contract -- a decision that has been a foregone conclusion for years -- the Red Sox already appear to be resorting to a backup plan.

"Should Bogaerts sign elsewhere, it seems the plan is to move Trevor Story -- who inked a six-year, $140 million contract last offseason -- back to shortstop, where he played exclusively for the first six years of his career," MLB.com's Mark Feinsand wrote.

"According to sources, the Red Sox have started reaching out to some teams regarding the availability of their second basemen, hoping to figure out Plan B in the likely event that Bogaerts leaves Boston."

While Red Sox Nation does not want to hear about the team pivoting off of Bogaerts already, this report can be boiled down to due diligence.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has frequently mentioned that he is not doing his job if he's not exploring all options. That said, it is noteworthy that the team does appear content with Story moving to shortstop and investing -- likely lightly -- in the second base position.

The second baseman market is extremely underwhelming this offseason. The top WAR leader among free agents at the position is 32-year-old Jean Segura, who hit .277 with 19 extra-base hits including 10 home runs, 33 RBIs and a .723 OPS in 98 games combined with middling defense.

There's truly nobody in free agency Christian Arroyo would be incapable of beating out this winter at second base, so they'd likely be looking for depth pieces. That would be quite a stark pivot from extending Bogaerts, one of the top all-around players in the game.

If this truly is the backup plan for Bogaerts, fans should be rooting even harder than before for Boston to re-sign the 30-year-old shortstop.

More MLB: Signing This Former Yankees Pitcher Could Be Game Changer For Red Sox

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Scott Neville
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

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