Xander Bogaerts: ‘Didn’t get my hopes up’ for Red Sox offers, was surprised by Trevor Story plans
"I did not think for one time that [Trevor Story] was going to be the replacement for me."
The gap between what Xander Bogaerts expected and what the Red Sox offered during contract negotiations was so big that Bogaerts opted out of the remaining years of his deal and entered free agency knowing he’d probably end up disappointed by Boston’s offer.
At the time, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was saying that keeping Bogaerts was a “top priority.” Bogaerts said he wasn’t surprised to hear Bloom say that, but the actions didn’t match up with the words.
“Saying it and showing it, I think it’s two different stuff, and obviously they have a little different way of showing it,” Bogaerts said during an appearance on Rob Bradford’s “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “I didn’t get my hopes up. I remember in spring training, Scott approached me about an extension offer. I was like, ‘Alright, let’s see what’s going on,’ and then when he came back with the offer, it was like, ‘Aw [expletive], this is pretty rough.’ This is a little disappointing, to be honest.”
According to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, the Red Sox offered Bogaerts a six-year deal worth around $160 million.
Bogaerts signed with San Diego for $280 million over 11 years in December.
That’s a difference of roughly $120 million. Bogaerts said the way negotiations went before last season set the tone for how things ended up.
“That kind of set the stage [for the whole season],” Bogaerts said. “Because I was a little like looking forward to what they were going to offer. Once the offer came out, I was like, this is a little, not a little, a lot surprising, to be honest. They probably had a different vision for the team, and maybe they didn’t expect me to get what I got in the end. Maybe they valued me a little differently. I guess free agency is a different ball game.”
Bogaerts said the Red Sox approached him before they signed Trevor Story, but that he didn’t expect Story to be the Red Sox’ long-term solution at shortstop.
“I did not think for one time that he was going to be the replacement for me maybe in the future,” said Bogaerts. “Me innocently just thinking like, ‘Oh, he’s going to make us better.’ I saw some reports coming out from the reporters like you guys, and I was like, ‘Aw [expletive], now I see kind of what it is.”
Bogaerts said that the Red Sox’ push to resign him at the end felt too late.
“Once it got towards the ending, it was like, ‘Nah, come on man,'” Bogaerts said. “Not even too close, but it was like, ‘I gave you guys all the chances, all the opportunities.'”
Bogaerts said he finalized his San Diego deal while at a Celtics game.
“The Celtics were playing the Suns,” Bogaerts said. “They blew them out by like 29. … I was in the lobby, at the game with my buddies.”
Bogaerts said he would have been tempted if the Red Sox offered him a deal in the right price range.
“There would have been a whole lot of talking. That would have gotten engaged,” Bogaerts said.
Bogaerts wished the Red Sox luck and enjoyed his time in Boston.
“I have no issues or hard feelings toward anyone in that organization,” Bogaerts said. “Sometimes it can get a little rough with some guys depending on how they exit and stuff like that. But, my time with the fans, the front office, to be honest, it was excellent. It was really, really good. Really, really special.”
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