Red Sox ‘had a good sense’ Xander Bogaerts was leaving before he signed with the Padres
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom admitted that he knew Bogaerts was likely leaving even as reports swirled that the two sides were close to a contract agreement.
Xander Bogaerts’s decision to leave Boston for San Diego late Wednesday evening into early Thursday morning was a surprise to many. It wasn’t just because he was actually leaving the Red Sox, but there were also several rumors indicating that a deal for him to remain was imminent.
But Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom knew that the club’s longest-tenured player was already gone before then.
“We had a good sense of where it was headed for some time before the deal was actually done,” Bloom told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo on Friday. “I know what was reported, but that was definitely not what our impression was throughout the day and even the day before.”
As Bloom said that he knew ahead of time Bogaerts’s time in Boston was over, Scott Boras (Bogaerts’s agent) stopped negotiating with the Red Sox by Wednesday, The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham reported. Boston’s final offer to Bogaerts was a six-year deal worth $160 million, which was a lesser offer than what a handful of teams offered him, according to Abraham.
Bloom didn’t confirm to Cotillo if that was the Red Sox’ final offer, but implied that the 11-year, $280 million deal Bogaerts received from the Padres was out of their price range.
“It got to a point to we just weren’t going to get to,” said Bloom, who has not spoken to Bogaerts since the signing. “That’s not to say that, emotionally, it wasn’t hard, but I don’t think there’s any sense in beating around the bush on that. The endpoint speaks for itself. We just weren’t going to get there.”
Bloom’s admission that he knew well ahead of time that the Red Sox had lost Bogaerts is a bit of a surprise considering the interview he had with The Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams at a San Diego airport early Thursday morning. After telling McWilliams to “Give me a minute” multiple times as he stared at his phone, Bloom said “Everybody is sad that [Bogaerts] is not going to be a part of the organization. We’re incredibly grateful for him. For everything he’s accomplished here and what he helped this organization accomplish,” as his voice trembled.
To add a bit more shock to Bloom’s confession to Cotillo, he said at the beginning of the offseason that re-signing Bogaerts was the ballclub’s top priority.
Bloom stood by that message when speaking with Cotillo, even if they weren’t able to get the job done.
“We wouldn’t have said that if we didn’t mean it,” Bloom said. “I think it became clear to us as things went on that this was going to go to a point that we just weren’t, irrespective of how we prioritize things, it just wasn’t something that we should do. It’s hard because of how much we love him. But it’s just the reality of the situation.”
As for Bogaerts’s side of the story, he didn’t seem to carry any ill will for his now former ballclub when he was introduced as a Padre on Friday.
“I was very thankful, very appreciative for my time over there,” Bogaerts said. “Great coaches, great players. From a managing standpoint and a front office standpoint, it was a great run.”
Bogaerts is now looking forward to his time in San Diego, which, of course, could last for the next 11 years.
“My priority was to go to a team that was very competitive, a team that wanted to win,” Bogaerts said. “I’m definitely looking forward to bringing a banner here.”
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