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Boston Red Sox

Red Sox, Scott Boras respond to Xander Bogaerts ‘severing ties’ report

Alex Barth November 30th, 2022

  • After two weeks of relatively little information regarding the Red Sox pursuit of retaining four-time All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts, things have accelerated quicky over the last day and a half. Now, the 30-year-old free agent is at the forefront of the MLB free agency discussion.

    On Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the San Diego Padres were considering signing Bogaerts. That was followed by long-time MLB insider Peter Gammons tweeting that front office sources from three different teams had told him that Bogaerts “has severed Boston ties and won’t be going back.”

  • Gammons’ tweet drew strong reactions from Red Sox fans and media. It appeared as though less than a month after asserting publicly that retaining Bogaerts was the team’s “top priority,” he was no longer taking their calls.

    Shortly thereafter, both parties responded publicly denouncing the report. Scott Boras, Bogaerts’ agent, was first, telling Alex Speier of The Boston Globe “Xander is open to any and all voices in the free agent market,” and adding “we have not closed any doors on anyone.”

    Later in the day, the Red Sox also commented on Gammons’ report. Speaking at a team event unveiling a new sponsorship deal with MassMutual, team president and CEO Sam Kennedy was asked about Gammons’ tweet. “I don’t have that impression [that he’s severed ties] but all we can go by is our desire to bring him back,” Kennedy said via Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “we’ve kept the lines of communication open all throughout last season, into the offseason and into his free agency.”

  • More: Tony Mazz reacts to latest Xander Bogaerts news


    (Click here to subscribe to The Baseball Hour with Tony Mazz.)

  • On one hand, it looks like Gammons’ report may have been premature, and that the Red Sox and Bogaerts remain in discussions about a new contract. At the same time, the responses from both sides don’t make it seem like there’s been much progress in that regard.

    Despite all the drama, Wednesday’s news in totality leaves those following the situation in pretty much the same spot they were just a few days ago. It remains a waiting game as MLB free agency rolls on.

  • Xander Bogaerts’ career stats

     
    Year Age Tm G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG Awards
    2013 20 BOS 18 44 7 11 2 0 1 5 5 13 .250 .320 .364
    2014 21 BOS 144 538 60 129 28 1 12 46 39 138 .240 .297 .362
    2015 22 BOS 156 613 84 196 35 3 7 81 32 101 .320 .355 .421 SS
    2016 23 BOS 157 652 115 192 34 1 21 89 58 123 .294 .356 .446 AS,SS
    2017 24 BOS 148 571 94 156 32 6 10 62 56 116 .273 .343 .403
    2018 25 BOS 136 513 72 148 45 3 23 103 55 102 .288 .360 .522 MVP-13
    2019 26 BOS 155 614 110 190 52 0 33 117 76 122 .309 .384 .555 AS,MVP-5,SS
    2020 27 BOS 56 203 36 61 8 0 11 28 21 41 .300 .364 .502 MVP-17
    2021 28 BOS 144 529 90 156 34 1 23 79 62 113 .295 .370 .493 AS,MVP-12,SS
    2022 29 BOS 150 557 84 171 38 0 15 73 57 118 .307 .377 .456 AS,MVP-9,SS
    Total 1264 4834 752 1410 308 15 156 683 461 987 .292 .356 .458
    162 avg 162 620 96 181 39 2 20 88 59 126 .292 .356 .458
    Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
    Generated 11/30/2022.

  • Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.

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