Forbes has released its 2022 rankings of the most valuable Major League Baseball franchises. The Boston Red Sox came in as the third most valuable, at $3.9 billion. They rank behind two predictable names: the New York Yankees ($6 billion) and the Los Angeles Dodgers ($4.075 billion) were the only franchises to rank higher than the Red Sox.
Here is the full top-10, as released by Forbes.
- New York Yankees, $6 billion
- Los Angeles Dodgers, $4.075 billion
- Boston Red Sox, $3.9 billion
- Chicago Cubs, $3.8 billion
- San Francisco Giants, $3.5 billion
- New York Mets, $2.65 billion
- St. Louis Cardinals. $2.45 billion
- Philadelphia Phillies, $2.3 billion
- Los Angeles Angels, $2.2 billion
- Atlanta Braves, $2.1 billion
Boston put its value to work, handing out a $140 million contract to Trevor Story to enhance the team’s defense and insert another power bat in the middle of the order. In terms of payroll, the Red Sox ranked sixth for the 2022 season at $195, 166,000, per Spotrac.
The Red Sox look to pick up where they left off from an ahead-of-schedule season in 2021, when they came within two wins of a berth in the World Series.
Mazz: How the Red Sox may (should?) try to sell Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and Trevor Story on remaining together
Pay Bogaerts and entice him to move to third
Oct 5, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) hits a two run home run against the New York Yankees during the first inning of the American League Wildcard game at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Will this be easy? No. Would Bogaerts do it? Unclear. His idol was Derek Jeter, who played his entire career with one team at one position. Presumably, Bogaerts covets something similar, but he might not be able to get both. The highest-paid shortstops and third basemen both make in the range of $30-$35 million per season and Bogaerts qualifies as one of those players. How the sides negotiate the ultimate value and length of the deal is open to debate, but something in the range of six years and $190 million (give or take) seems fair. That would bring Bogaerts[ earnings to $250 million over a nine-year period and at least help rectify the fact that he has been underpaid over the last two seasons.
Move Rafael Devers to DH and pay him at a premium
Oct 3, 2021; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers (11) hits a go-ahead two run home run against the Washington Nationals during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
If Story and Bogaerts are both on the left side of the infield, well, guess what? Devers won’t be. Part of the reason the Sox haven’t approached Devers about a long-term deal is probably because they don’t want to commit to (and pay) him as a third baseman, where he has ranked near the bottom of qualifying players in many advanced defensive metrics over the last four years. (In the aggregate, he is last among 15 qualifiers over the last four seasons.) The point? Devers’ future is probably as a DH and J.D. Martinez is a free agent at the end of this season. The top designated hitters really make somewhere in the range of $20-$25 million per season. Devers adores Bogaerts – and with good reason. So pay him like a top-of-the-market DH and maybe extend the contract on the longer side. Unlike Story and Bogaerts, Devers bats left-handed. That is critical for the balance of the Boston offense.
Move Story to shortstop, where he has more value
Sep 28, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story (27) fields the ball in the third inning against the Washington Nationals at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Despite much of what you read and hear, Bogaerts is hardly a problem at shortstop. But Story is better. As long as Story is reasonably productive away from Coors Field – and this is always a concern with any former member of the Rockies – his contract with the Red Sox is completely in line with his value. Right now, he is one of the higher-paid second basemen in the game. If he moves to short, the Red Sox will get better value on the deal (which Story signed up for). By moving Story and Devers to shortstop and DH, respectively, the Red Sox can get much better value on those contracts and justify paying Bogaerts at the top of the market as the face and leader of the team.
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