The Boston Red Sox and third baseman Rafael Devers have news to announce.
No, it’s not a long-term contract.
But hey, it’s something!
“Third baseman Rafael Devers and the Boston Red Sox are in agreement on a one-year, $17.5 million deal to avoid arbitration, sources tell ESPN. This does not stop the sides from reaching a long-term contract extension. The fact that the sides got this deal done shows discussions,” MLB insider Jeff Passan tweeted on Tuesday.
Third baseman Rafael Devers and the Boston Red Sox are in agreement on a one-year, $17.5 million deal to avoid arbitration, sources tell ESPN.
This does not stop the sides from reaching a long-term contract extension. The fact that the sides got this deal done shows discussions.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 3, 2023
For months – probably years, if we are being honest – the Red Sox have been talking to Devers’ camp to see if they can sign him to a long-term extension.
They don’t want to make past mistakes: fans are certainly reminiscing the Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts situations.
Seeing how they couldn’t extend Betts, they traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
With Bogaerts, they couldn’t even deal him: they lost him for nothing this offseason.
Today’s agreement is for 2023 only: it doesn’t mean that the talented third baseman is now signed for the long haul.
Devers is entering the last season of salary arbitration and this is merely setting up his 2023 salary.
A Betts or Bogaerts-like scenario can still happen.
However, as Passan notes, they can still talk about a long-term pact and probably will.
An extension of some sort is likely in the not-so-distant future: one would think the Red Sox aren’t going to lose Devers for nothing.
The All-Star hit .295/.358/.521 with 27 home runs in 2022 and is consistently among the most productive run-producers in the American League.
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