Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Reportedly Have Two Free Agents They Are 'Determined' To Re-Sign

Boston has two players in their sights this offseason

Scott Neville

Red Sox Reportedly Have Two Free Agents They Are 'Determined' To Re-Sign
Red Sox Reportedly Have Two Free Agents They Are 'Determined' To Re-Sign /
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The Boston Red Sox are losing some key pieces of their core via free agency, but will aim to limit the damage by keeping a pair of players on the roster.

While it's very possible the Red Sox have plans to retain more of their impending free agents, they reportedly have two clear favorites.

"(Xander) Bogaerts tops the list," MLB.com's Ian Browne wrote Wednesday." (Michael) Wacha was the best acquisition that chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom made last season, and the club would like to have him back in the rotation for 2023 and beyond."

It makes all the sense in the world that Boston would consider Bogaerts to be their top re-sign candidate. He not only has the most talent of the current group of free agents but also means the most to the roster.

The 30-year-old, while scrutinized, had a very successful season at the plate. Bogaerts hit .307 with 53 extra-base hits including 15 home runs, 73 RBIs and a .833 OPS in 150 games.

While everybody was well aware of Bogaerts' offensive prowess, he also worked diligently to improve his defense over the offseason and was rewarded as an American League Gold Glove Award finalist. 

Bogaerts checks nearly every box and is a slam-dunk candidate to re-sign as long as he's not too highly overpaid. Bogey's agent, Scott Boras, will make things as complicated as possible, but both the player and the organization are in favor of a reunion.

Wacha being the second priority to re-sign is a surprise. Yes, he was the best pitcher in the Red Sox's rotation a year ago. However, Nathan Eovaldi has the better track record and all advanced analytics heavily favor the latter as well.

Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez spoke of Eovaldi as a lock for the 2023 roster in an interview with "Inside The Red Sox," and the possibility of a return seemingly would be high.

Based on this report, Bloom is leaning toward Wacha.

The Red Sox have freed up a lot of money and will be quite active this off-season. If they do retain Bogaerts and Wacha, it'll be just the tip of the iceberg. 

More MLB: Red Sox Linked To Top Free Agent Slugger After Season-Long Power Outage

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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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