Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox Agree To 7-Year, $132 Million Extension

While Baseball fans are losing their shit over March Baseball games that mean next to nothing, the biggest news of the day once again goes to the defending champion Boston Red Sox. Xander Bogaerts was scheduled to hit free agency after the 2019 season. Not anymore. He’s sticking around for the long haul. Bogaerts and the Red Sox have agreed to a 7-Year extension worth $132 million.

Jeff Passan of ESPN was the first to report the news:

Bogaerts, 26, is one of the best shortstops in baseball. He’s one of the few shortstops in the game that hits for average and power. Bogie also holds his own as a defender too. In 2018, Bogie hit .288/.360/.522. He also hit 23 homers. That’s a hell of a year for a middle infielder. Outside of Francisco Lindor, You can’t find many shortstops who can put up those types of numbers offensively.

This is a huge win for the Sox. The contract comes in at a very reasonable number. Just short of $19 million a year for Bogaerts who is just 26? Sign me up for that every day of the week. This was the big one the Sox needed to hit. After locking up Chris Sale during spring training, Bogaerts became the priority. Now the Sox will keep both. Those were the two big hitters scheduled to hit free agency but not anymore.

Dave Dombrowski continues his resume as the most aggressive gm in baseball. He just gets shit done. If there’s something on his to do list, Dombrowski always delivers. Sale Extension? Yup, done. Need a big bat? Okay, JD Martinez it is. This is exactly why fans shouldn’t freak out over the Mookie Betts contract situation that is due in 2 years. Dombrowski gets shit done and so does this ownership group.

I can’t stress enough how important keeping Bogaerts was. I actually didn’t think it was going to happen given that his agent is Scott Boras. That guy NEVER works out extensions in season. Bogaerts also didn’t haggle for every last dollar. This is a great day for the Red Sox.