Rafael Devers, Red Sox avoid arbitration with one-year, $17.5 million deal
BOSTON -- The Red Sox and Rafael Devers will not be going to salary arbitration this winter. The two sides agreed to a one-year deal worth $17.5 million.
The Red Sox formally announced the signing -- without the dollar amount -- shortly after Jeff Passan first broke the news.
It's not the long-term deal that most fans are hoping for, especially after Boston let Xander Bogaerts leave town this offseason, but the two sides still have time to work that out before Devers becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2023 season. And this contract does give Devers a raise from last season, when he played on a one-year, $11.2 million deal to avoid arbitration last March.
Devers is coming off a solid season where he slashed .295/.358/.521 to go with 27 home runs, 42 doubles, and 88 RBIs over 141 games. He received his second straight All-Star nod and finished 14th in MVP voting in 2022.
Boston fans were yelling at Red Sox owner John Henry to pay Devers at Monday's Winter Classic at Fenway Park. While he did give Devers a bit of a raise on Tuesday, Boston fans are hoping that Henry's next offer to Devers will have a lot more years and a lot more zeros attached to it.
Boston has six remaining unsigned players eligible for salary arbitration this offseason: Christian Arroyo, Ryan Brasier, Reese McGuire, Nick Pivetta, Josh Taylor, and Alex Verdugo.
