Hurley: Xander Bogaerts' final day of free agency a cruel twist of the knife for Boston fans

BOSTON -- If you paid attention even a little bit over the past calendar year, then you knew this day would inevitably come. Xander Bogaerts is no longer a member of the Boston Red Sox.

Of course, you couldn't have known the specifics, which ended up being a monster 11-year, $280 million deal with the San Diego Padres. But you know that when it came to nut-cutting time, the Red Sox would be nowhere near the highest bidder. That had been made pretty clear when the Red Sox created this situation in the first place last winter and spring.

Nevertheless, the events of Wednesday had to have been rough on Red Sox fans.

Despite being resigned to the reality that Bogaerts was likely leaving, there remained the glimmer of hope that John Henry would have a change of heart and would do what was necessary to keep Bogaerts -- who's been a part of the organization since signing in 2009 as a 16-year-old -- in Boston for the long term.

That small bit of hope was then thrown into a microwave when a series of reports, suggestions, and innuendos made it seem as though the Red Sox were finally putting in a real pursuit of Bogaerts.

It began with Jon Heyman (who was right back at it after fumbling the Aaron "Arson" Judge news a day earlier):

That notification came in just before noon on Wednesday. But given Heyman's misjudgment a day earlier, there was some healthy skepticism from fans when considering that development.

Yet Heyman was not alone. 

The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham posted signs of progress just after noon:

Two hours later, there was "momentum."

In a story in the Globe, Abraham wrote, "The new momentum combined with the desire from both sides to make a deal should lead to a positive outcome."

Over on The Athletic, just before 4 p.m. ET, Ken Rosenthal wrote that Bogaerts was reportedly "close" to re-signing with the Red Sox.

Jared Carrabis was dropping some hints as well.

Before that, Sean McAdam of Boston Sports Journal passed along this tantalizing tidbit:

So by the time the early evening TV shows hit the airwaves, the vibes in Boston were high. On "Early Edition," John Tomase took stock of the day's events and stated, "Certainly, all indications are pointing toward Xander coming back to the Red Sox."

Vibes were rising.

And when Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom spoke to reporters on Wednesday night, he smiled wide while withholding comment about the Bogaerts negotiations. Reporters took note.

Abraham wrote more in the Globe:

After two days of professing his desire to sign Bogaerts, I asked Bloom if he felt better about the situation now than he did two days ago when it appeared Bogaerts was slipping away.

"I don't want to get further into it," said Bloom, who was smiling widely. Interpret that as you will.

It was interpreted as expected.

Alas, in the end, it was a case of Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown. Bogaerts was gone, and the Red Sox weren't even close to offering enough years or dollars to have had any chance of retaining their shortstop. (Abraham reported that the Red Sox might not have even made the fourth-best offer to Bogaerts.) And Red Sox fans had to wake up to see this on their Twitter feeds:

That's going to sting.

In 2014, when they traded Jon Lester to the Oakland A's at the deadline, the front office said they would try to sign him in free agency the following winter. That never happened, and the lowball offer made to Lester before the final year of his contract said all that needed to be said about the Red Sox' desire -- or lack thereof -- to keep their homegrown talent in Boston.

In 2020, after trading Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chaim Bloom spoke of the long-term flexibility that the move would afford the Red Sox. Ultimately, Boston's best offer to Betts was about $65 million less than what he eventually signed with the Dodgers -- a deal that was most likely even lower than it would have been if not for a slightly depressed market in the early days of COVID.

While trading a generational player like Betts was painful for fans to see, at least they'd be able to avoid history repeating itself when the time came for Bogaerts and Rafael Devers to get their long-term extensions to carry the Red Sox through the 2020s.

And yet, here they are.

Ultimately, it would all probably be a lot easier for everybody to swallow if the Red Sox were just up-front about who they are. Instead of saying they're not in the business of giving out enormous contracts to star players, they say that re-signing Bogaerts is a "priority." Clearly, it wasn't. If it was, then the team would have earnestly tried to sign him last year. Instead, they reportedly offered him a four-year, $90 million contract last spring. He ended up getting 11 years and $285 million.

Even this week, as talks were intensifying and heating up, and as momentum was building ... the Red Sox were never close.

Again, if the Red Sox were just open and honest about their intentions and their plans, then this would all be a lot simpler. Instead, the organization feels the need to feign interest, to make offers they know won't be accepted, and to drag fans along through the process. Making curious decisions -- like giving $32 million to a 35-year-old closer who's walked almost four batters per nine innings over the last three seasons, or previously trying to eliminate the bad Lester decision by giving a huge deal to David Price, etc. -- along the way only works to add to the mixed messages being sent out from the offices of Fenway Park.

Surely, fans can understand when a team doesn't guarantee 11 years and $285 million to a player. Those mega-deals fail to provide value 9.5 times out of 10. The issue, obviously, is with the Red Sox allowing this situation to reach the point where such offers became possible. And that four-year, $90 million "offer" last spring ensured that this day would be coming.

But there is hope for Red Sox fans. Chaim Bloom said this week that the Red Sox are interested in signing free agent catcher Christian Vazquez. That's the same Christian Vazquez whom the Red Sox traded to Houston this year, in one of the most one-foot-in, one-foot-out trade deadlines we've ever seen from a baseball team. The Red Sox didn't want Vazquez anymore, but now they do. 

Surely, the act of trading Vazquez away for a meager return in a last-place season doesn't mean the front office doesn't value the player.

Surely, this will be a deal the Red Sox get done to keep the fans and the clubhouse happy.

Surely, this will be the time that Lucy keeps that pigskin firmly planted on the grass.

Surely this time will be the time. It's gotta be.

You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.