Scott Boras explains why Xander Bogaerts got away from Red Sox
BOSTON -- The Red Sox showed off their prized free-agent signing at Fenway Park on Thursday, giving Masataka Yoshida his Boston jersey and introducing the Japanese outfielder to the local media. But after that intro was done, the attention turned to Boston's biggest whiff of the winter.
That would be, of course, losing shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who signed an 11-year, $280 million with the San Diego Padres. Boston reportedly only offered a six-year deal worth $160 million to their homegrown star.
Scott Boras represents both Bogaerts and Yoshida, and was on hand Thursday afternoon at Fenway Park. He was more than willing to shed some more light into Boston's negotiations with Bogaerts, and shared his thoughts on why the team lost out on making the shortstop a Red Sox for life.
Asked if the Red Sox "miscalculated" the market for Bogaerts, Boras said that the low offer was more of a choice by the Boston front office. They very much wanted to sign Yoshida, and were determined to get the player. He did not get the same feeling in their pursuit of Bogaerts.
"I'm not sure it's about miscalculation. It's about choices," said Boras. "You choose to pursue players like they chose to pursue [Yoshida] at levels that many other teams didn't have him at. Teams chose to pursue Xander at levels that some teams didn't have him at. You see that in the industry."
So much for all that "top priority" talk regarding Bogaerts. Boras believes that the Red Sox didn't go over the top with Bogaerts because the franchise has high expectations for shortstop prospect Marcelo Mayer, whom the team drafted fourth overall in 2021.
"There's a certain shortstop that they have down in the minor leagues that they want to play here, I would imagine," said Boras. "Pretty good ballplayer."
As Bogaerts did when he was introduced with the Padres last week, Boras said that his client's focus is on winning right now. That's a bit of a shot at the Red Sox, with the team dragging its feet in free agency after a last place finish in the AL East in 2022.
"What's Xander's goal? Winning. What's also his goal? He wants his appropriate valuation in the market," said Boras. "We found that on a number of levels for him and chose that. For [the Red Sox], their model had a different modality with it and they moved forward with it."
Boras' brutal honesty inside Fenway Park likely irked the Red Sox, and it just got worse in the moments following Yoshida's introduction. While in Boston, Boras worked out the finished touches on a six-year, $162 million deal for Carlos Rodon, with the lefty landing with the Red Sox' biggest rival: The New York Yankees.
As Alex Speier of The Boston Globe noted Thursday, "the late-stage negotiations took place as Boras snacked on food from a buffet provided by the Red Sox."
Ouch. The hits just keep coming for the Boston Red Sox this winter.
