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

Here's to hoping Bogey can stay in Boston

Scott Neville | Oct 6, 2022

Red Sox's Process To Sign Xander Bogaerts 'Going To Start Right Away' /

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Was Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts' mid-game farewell all for naught? The majority of the fanbase would hope so, and as it turns out, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom would agree.

Bloom was asked about retaining Bogaerts and was very upfront about his interest in bringing his shortstop back long term.

"I don't want to make public any of the blow-by-blow but what I can say is, that process is going to start right away from our end," Bloom told reporters, as seen on NESN's broadcast Thursday. "Obviously we know we haven't found that path yet, we still want to and we're going to work really hard at it."

We know one thing for sure, the average annual value is going to exceed the $20 million price tag Bogaerts is on the books for until he officially opts out of his current deal.

As one of the premier shortstops in the game, he'll likely be chasing $30 million for somewhere in the five to six year range. It's tough to say whether Bloom will be willing to possibly "overpay" to retain the unofficial captain of the Red Sox, but all of Boston's decision-makers are saying the right things.

Bloom made it clear that he wants to keep Bogaerts in Boston for the rest of his career, while manager Alex Cora said they are preparing as if he will return next season.

More MLB: Red Sox's Chaim Bloom Wants To Build Around Rafael Devers Long Term

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