Red Sox Nation has been on edge and disgruntled for over a year, arguably three. The Red Sox couldn’t afford, PR-wise, not to sign Rafael Devers to a contract extension, especially after losing Xander Bogaerts.
The fallout of trading a second homegrown star — the last link to 2018 — would’ve been apocalyptic.
But now that the contract drama of the last year is over. Now we can all exhale and relax a bit, right?
Sox decision-makers showed they’re willing to pay their stars — the right stars who are open to staying and willing to negotiate (when negotiations aren’t bungled).
Plus, whatever Boston’s front office has planned, signing Devers tells us there is at least a plan. Now Chaim Bloom and Co. can put all their focus into it without distraction.
Ultimately, what matters more than either of those things, though, is Raffy will be a Red Sox for a long time.
Rafael Devers a Prime Contract Extension Candidate
Rafael Devers is the ideal player to give a mega deal contract extension to.
He’s only 26, meaning his 11-year, $331 million contract extension ends when he’s 36, not in his early 40s. There’s a decent chance Rafael is still productive by the end of his deal. Other teams that handed out mega deals this winter can’t say the same.
He showed marked improvement at third base in 2022, with a career-best -2 Outs Above Average and the fewest fielding errors (5) he’s committed in a 162-game season.
He’s also been one of the best hitters in MLB since 2019.
Since the start of 2019, he ranks first in extra-base hits (264), second in total bases (1078), third in RBI (359), seventh in exit velocity (92.8 mph), ninth in home runs (108) and Win Probability Added (9.27), 11th in offensive Wins Above Replacement (16.8), 15th in hard-hit rate (49.2 percent), and 23rd in wRC+ (132).
Want to know something scary? The 26-year-old third baseman hasn’t even hit his peak yet.
Devers whiffs and strikes out and chases way too much. As a result, his overall contact rate and in-zone contact rate is much lower than those of the superstars of today’s game. If the native of the Dominican Republic becomes even slightly more disciplined and his contact rates go up, watch out.
More plate discipline will help his walk rates too.
A Raffy that walks at an average to slightly above average clip and makes more contact on pitches in the zone? On top of what he already does? Good luck, pitchers (Gerrit Cole).
If Devers didn’t get paid, this regime wouldn’t pay anyone. But they paid up this time, giving him the largest and longest deal in team history and the sixth-largest deal in MLB history by total value.
If he finishes the contract in Boston, Devers will only be the fifth Red Sox to play for the team for 17 seasons.
The Future Begins Now
It was difficult, even for me, to believe what the Red Sox kept saying about keeping their stars after Bogey signed with the Padres.
For what it’s worth, Bloom acknowledged that words without action are just words. He even expressed some regret/remorse over how Xander’s negotiations transpired, admitting that the Sox needed to reevaluate how they handle extensions.
Maybe Rafael Devers’ contract extension is the result.
(Ownership mouthpiece Sam Kennedy took the opposite approach.)
Regardless, Rafael Devers is the guy that Bloom and ownership chose to make the face of the franchise, the sole player under contract past the 2028 season around whom to build the next great Red Sox team.
The lone star left of the Betts-Bogey-Devers trio, he will be viewed as the new leader of the Sox clubhouse. Boston’s front office has done an excellent job building a leadership bridge of experienced veterans this winter to allow Devers to ease into his new role.
Credit where credit is due, right?
It’s funny how quickly the vibes around the Red Sox flipped, though, isn’t it?
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1 Comment
Great Job Cody!!!!