Report: Red Sox have engaged in contract extension talks with Rafael Devers, offer substantially better than the one during Spring Training
The Red Sox have reportedly engaged in contract extension talks with All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers, per a source. The club reportedly began contract talks on Monday night.
News began to break during the Patriots Monday Night Football game that Devers and the Red Sox were working towards a long-term deal, per MLB reporter Yancen Pujols.
“Sources: The Red Sox are moving to secure Rafael Devers long-term. The ongoing talks with Devers camp are being led by a senior club executive who is currently in the Dominican Republic. Their goal is to sign Devers, who turns 26 today, to an extension for at least 7 seasons,” tweeted Pujols.
Two teams have reportedly emerged as serious suitors for Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge
Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has been open about trying to lock up Devers this winter.
“We would like to,” Bloom said a few weeks ago. “Nothing has changed in that regard. He is one of the best players in the game. He has shown the ability to perform on the biggest stages and to do it here and he is someone we want to build around.”
Additional reports have surfaced from Hector Gómez confirming that “the Red Sox’offer is expected to nearly double the initial offer we reported on April 6, which was rejected by Rafael Devers. As reported by Yancen Pujols, there's talk of a contract extension of at least 7 guaranteed years.”
This spring the Red Sox reportedly offered Devers a extension similar to the one the Braves gave first baseman Matt Olson. The Braves slugger signed an eight-year, $168 million deal.
Devers and his camp rejected the Red Sox offer and went into the regular season with no extension.
“I know my value. I don’t want to be compared with anyone else, regardless of what the position is,” said Devers during the All-Star break in Los Angeles this last season.
Devers had a strong 2022 season, slashing .296/.358/.521 with 27 home runs and 88 RBIs while vastly improving his defense at third base.
Pujols continued his reporting on social media that a “substantially improved offer was made” by the Red Sox.
"A substantially improved offer was made versus the previous one in spring training. That said, an agreement is not yet certain. These are early stages of the negotiation, but Boston’s leadership is determined to avoid the start of spring training or the season without having the Dominican under a long-term contract,” said Pujols on Twitter.
It's been heavily reported that assistant general manager Eddie Romero visited Devers in the Dominican Republic for his birthday which was Oct. 24th. It also should be noted that Romero and Devers have a close relationship, dating back to when the slugger was 16-years-old. The Red Sox assistant general manager signed Devers when he was a teenager.
The subject of the meeting has been surrounded by conflicting reports from both Red Sox beat writers, Alex Speier, Chris Cotillo, Pujols and Gómez.
The Devers extension talks are in the early stages but the two sides seem very open to a long-term extension. If the Red Sox get the Devers extension deal complete soon, a source confirmed that the Bogaerts deal could follow soon after.
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