Red Sox, Rafael Devers Agree To Deal For 2023 Season, Avoid Arbitration

Signs are pointing up for a long-term deal

Scott Neville | Jan 3, 2023

Red Sox, Rafael Devers Agree To Deal For 2023 Season, Avoid Arbitration /

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Boston Red Sox

Fans have been waiting all offseason for the Boston Red Sox and superstar third baseman Rafael Devers to come to terms on a new deal.

That time reportedly came Tuesday, but not in the way fans hoped.

"Third baseman Rafael Devers and the Boston Red Sox are in agreement on a one-year, $17.5 million deal to avoid arbitration," ESPN's Jeff Passan reported. "This does not stop the sides from reaching a long-term contract extension. The fact that the sides got this deal done shows discussions."

Devers is entering his final year of team control and received a sizeable raise from the $11.2 million he made last season.

While it would have been a much bigger deal had the two sides agreed on a long-term deal, the move shows signs of progress. They were not able to come together on the deal that ultimately matters, but Devers' representation and the team appear to be on solid terms.

That said, Boston, despite its massive market, has developed a reputation for lowballing free agents in recent years, especially homegrown ones.

The latest report from ESPN's Joon Lee a few weeks back claimed that the two sides are "galaxies apart." The price for a 26-year-old superstar will only go up, and the Red Sox are only hurting themselves the longer they wait to pay their superstar slugger.

Avoiding arbitration could be considered a sign of progress, though it likely halted discussions to keep Devers in a Red Sox uniform for the next decade. Now there is nothing else to pivot to. It's time for Boston to pay up.

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Published Jan 3, 2023

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