Shortstop Xander Bogaerts became two things this week – a free agent, and a five-time Silver Slugger winner. Bogaerts officially opted out of his contract and hit the open market earlier this week. Then, on Thursday, he was named the American League’s Silver Slugger shortstop.
Bogaerts, 30, led all AL shortstops hitting .307 in 2022 in 150 games. He added 38 doubles, 15 home runs, and 73 runs driven in with a .377 on pace percentage and .456 slugging percentage.
This is the second consecutive Silver Slugger win for Bogaerts. He also won the award in 2015, 2016, and 2019.
Congrats to Xander on winning his 5th Silver Slugger Award! pic.twitter.com/jQEXWdTfba
— Red Sox (@RedSox) November 10, 2022With this win, Bogaerts picked up a couple of notable distinctions. He’s the fourth Red Sox player to win at least five Silver Slugger awards (which began in 1980), joining David Ortiz (7), Wade Boggs (6), and Manny Ramirez (6). On top of that, he’s the fifth shortstop in history with at least five Silver Sluggers, joining Barry Larkin (9), Cal Ripken Jr. (8), Alex Rodríguez (7), and Derek Jeter (5).
This all comes, of course, as Bogaerts is an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. He’s expected to be one of the top shortstops on the market, and this only strengthens his leverage. Earlier this week, ESPN projected him as the fourth ranked free agent overall this winter. They also projected it will take a six-year, $168 million dollar contract to land him.
Bogaerts isn’t the only high-profile player the Red Sox are dealing with now. Rafael Devers, who was a Silver Slugger finalist at third base, is likely due for a new contract as he enters his final year of arbitration.
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, SS Career 10 Y 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 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.
