Red Sox Should Pay Whatever It Takes to Extend Rafael Devers amid Latest MLB Rumors
The Boston Red Sox were World Series champions in 2018.
Since then, though, they've seen some of the best and brightest MLB stars flee from New England. Mookie Betts and David Price were traded away in 2019, Craig Kimbrel left in free agency that same offseason, and Xander Bogaerts most recently skipped town to ink an 11-year, $280 million pact with the San Diego Padres.
Could Rafael Devers, who's slated to hit free agency after next season, be the next to exit? The Red Sox certainly hope not.
Extending Devers now is Boston's "No. 1 priority," per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. That statement feels particularly important since the Sox have yet to find a Bogaerts replacement.
Then again, it makes total sense. Devers is a rock star, and he'll almost certainly be worth whatever his next—assuredly colossal—contract costs.
Massive Production and the Potential for More
If you sketched out a list of baseball's best power hitters, Devers may not be the first name that springs to mind, but he'd absolutely be in the conversation.
Throw out the 2020 COVID-19-shortened campaign, and his last three seasons have produced averages of 32.3 homers, 105.3 RBI and 104.7 runs. His batting average has never landed below .279 in this stretch, while his on-base percentage has eclipsed .350 in each campaign.
Oh, this is where we should probably mention he only turned 26 years old in October. It's possible—if not probable—we haven't even seen his best yet.
He's a masher of the highest order, and it's hard to imagine Boston's lineup ever being bad as long as he's in the middle of it.
Boston's Building Block
It feels like ever since the Sox won that title, they've been penning the start of their next chapter. Taken together, though, those stories haven't been particularly inspiring. Their appearance in the 2021 American League Championship Series marked their lone postseason trip since that championship run.
Boston needs a foundation to build around now that so many notable names have left the clubhouse. Devers can—and should—be exactly that.
"They have to give him whatever he wants," a baseball executive told Heyman. "Can they really let him go too?"
In a word: heck no.
He should be the Sox's centerpiece going forward, and he can be if the club puts the right offer on the table.
So, How Much Is This Going to Cost?
A ton, honestly, but that's the business of securing elite MLB talent.
Back in October, Heyman reported Devers was seeking "at least 10 years for $300 million-plus." It's possible both parts of that request have gone up given how teams have treated their payrolls like Monopoly money this offseason.
Bogaerts wasn't the only position player to hit the jackpot. Far from it. Trea Turner got $300 million for 11 seasons from the Philadelphia Phillies. The San Francisco Giants snagged Carlos Correa on a 13-year, $350 million deal. Aaron Judge fetched $360 million for "only" nine seasons from the New York Yankees.
Regardless of where you slot Devers in with those other players, he's clearly somewhere in that group—and not bringing up the rear. Bogaerts is four years older and has only belted 25-plus homers once in his career. If he's a near-$300-million player in this MLB economy, Devers is obviously a $300-million-plus type of talent.