Free agency is a dream for many players. After being under team control contracts for the first five years of their careers, players can become eligible to become free agents. This means eligible players can potentially make huge amounts of money. The Boston Red Sox’s control of star third baseman Rafael Devers is set to expire after this season. He will be able to become a free agent. However, the Red Sox are trying to re-sign him to a long-term deal to keep him in Boston. Given the Red Sox’s current struggles, I think Devers should reject any long-term offers from the team and sign somewhere else.
Early Career Accomplishments
So far, Rafael Devers has had a very accomplished early career. He’s won a World Series ring, been an All-Star twice, won a Silver Slugger Award, and has been on the All-MLB team. He has also hit at least 21 or more home runs in four out of six seasons he’s played for the Red Sox. Had it not been for the COVID-19 2020 season, it most likely would have been five. In just six seasons, he’s put up a career OPS of .854. A player who puts up that kind of production should be able to cash in big, whether as a free agent or with their current team.
Red Sox’s Past Negotiation Issues
It’s safe to say that the Boston Red Sox are a mess. So far, during the tenure of Chaim Bloom, the Red Sox have been unable to re-sign their homegrown players to long-term deals. This has forced them to trade stars like Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi. Most recently, Xander Bogaerts signed with the San Diego Padres despite Boston wanting to re-sign him badly. Reportedly during contract negotiations, the Red Sox lowballed Betts and Bogaerts. Boston has also shown an unwillingness to pay players the money they are currently getting in free agency. The highest-paid player on the team currently is Trevor Story at $140 million. If Devers desires to make upwards of $200 million or more a season, staying in Boston isn’t an option. The opportunity for Devers to get paid his worth or possibly more is too good to pass up.
No Shape to Contend
The Red Sox are in no shape to contend any time soon as a team. This offseason, the Red Sox lost Xander Bogaerts, JD Martinez, and Tommy Pham during free agency. Boston also curiously decided to release Eric Hosmer. It can be argued that all four players, along with Devers, helped Boston not lose over 90 games. Given that Devers’s friend Xander Bogaerts is no longer on the team, that must factor into whether he stays in Boston. I am sure that Bogaerts has given him a heads-up on how badly Boston does business with their homegrown stars. With how badly the negotiations went with Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts, Devers ought to consider other options.
While Boston did sign Japanese star Masataka Yoshida, it remains to be seen whether his skills will translate to MLB competition. Also, their big free agent acquisition, Trevor Story, had an injury-riddled 2022 season, only being able to play in 94 games. Boston also still has plenty of question marks surrounding its pitching staff, and a team can’t win without great pitching. Even Bogaerts’s agent, Scott Boras, called the Red Sox “so so.”
He’d Essentially Be a One Man Show
One could argue that Boston has a top-farm system with players that can make an impact at the MLB level. Boston currently has promising young players in Triston Casas, Brayan Bello, Jarren Durran, and Christian Arroyo ready for action. However, young players need time to adjust and develop. This means Boston won’t be winning many games this season. This also means that Devers will have to do a lot of the offensive production on his own.
He Should Just Move On
Given the current state of the Red Sox, if Rafael Devers were to re-sign, he’d be in a similar situation to Mike Trout. He’d be a great player on a bad team. If Devers re-signed, he’d severely undercut his value and wouldn’t make nearly as much money. Boston is reluctant to sign players to big-money contracts, and if Devers desires that, it won’t come from the Sox. Given how badly Boston has been doing business with their homegrown stars in recent years, Devers ought to tell them not to waste their time. If he enters free agency, he’ll have no shortage of suitors that would want to sign and give him big money.
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