AL East

Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts is hoping to stay put with a long-term contract extension, but it appears negotiations are on hold.

Bogaerts' agent Scott Boras told Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe that contract talks "definitively" will wait until after the season ends.

In April, Bogaerts indicated Opening Day was his unofficial deadline to agree to terms on an extension. But his stance seemed to have softened, as he told Abraham he would be open to negotiating during the 2022 season.

"I don't know how this would work," Bogaerts said. "But if they talk to Scott behind closed doors and it's something that's fair, he can come to me. We'll see how that goes."

Bogaerts signed a six-year, $120 million extension in March 2019, but he's eligible to opt out and become a free agent after the season. Even though he would be leaving $60 million guaranteed on the table, the 29-year-old is likely to make more than that on the open market.

A three-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger, Bogaerts is one of the best players at his position. This season, he leads the Red Sox with a .346 batting average, which ranks fourth in MLB. Bogaerts has added three home runs and 15 RBI for Boston, which is fourth in the AL East with a 14-21 record.

Bogaerts has expressed a desire to stay in Beantown, so the Red Sox should feel safe in waiting until after the season to resume contract talks.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes has deactivated his Twitter account after tweets surfaced from over 10 years ago that included racial slurs.

According to ESPN, Cortes appeared to be quoting rap lyrics in some of the tweets, and he didn't appear to be "using the words to demean anyone directly."

Cortes apologized for the tweets when speaking to reporters on Monday before New York's game against the Baltimore Orioles.

"I felt like it wasn't the right message that I wanted to send out, when I was 17 years old," Cortes said. "Those happened 10 years ago. I deactivated my Twitter to clean stuff up."

He added, "It's not acceptable. I think I could have managed myself and said stuff differently. But I'm here today to say that I'm going to work on it and fix it."

Cortes has been one of the best pitchers in the majors so far this season, putting together a breakout year. In seven starts, he has a 2-1 record with a 1.35 ERA, which ranks second in MLB. He's thrown 49 strikeouts against just 11 walks in 40 innings with a 0.85 WHIP.

The 27-year-old said he's disappointed in himself because he tries to use social media as a way to inspire people. He said he plans on reactivating his account soon.

"I hope to be back in the next few days," Cortes said. "I like to attract people like me, not the prototype 6-foot-5, 97 [mph pitcher]. For the last two or three years, I’ve been pretty positive on Twitter. When I saw that I was a little pissed off at myself."

Free-agent outfielder Brett Gardner reportedly turned down offers from multiple teams since the end of the 2021 season.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Gardner declined a one-year, $6 million contract from the Toronto Blue Jays after the MLB lockout and did not pursue an opportunity with the Atlanta Braves when they expressed interest.

The New York Yankees are the only team Gardner has played for, and Rosenthal noted it was "likely" they are the only team with which he would sign.

Since the Yankees appear to have moved on, however, the 38-year-old's career may be over.

Gardner made his MLB debut in 2008 and spent 14 seasons with the Yankees, becoming one of the most beloved players of the post-dynasty era.

While Gardner was largely viewed as a hard-nosed role player, he wasn't without individual accolades, earning one All-Star nod and one Gold Glove Award.

The South Carolina native was also part of the Yankees' World Series championship team in 2009, and after CC Sabathia retired in 2019, Gardner was the only player from that club still on the roster.

Gardner slashed .256/.342/.398 and registered 139 home runs, 578 RBI, 943 runs and 274 stolen bases in 1,688 regular-season games.

He ranks third on the Bronx Bombers' all-time steals list and eighth on the team's triples list with 73.

Over the past few years, the expectation was for Gardner to be more of a fourth outfielder than a full-time starter, but he still got regular at-bats.

Last season, Gardner appeared in 140 games and hit .222 with 10 home runs, 39 RBI, 47 runs and four steals.

While Gardner had back-to-back seasons with well over 40 steals in 2010 and 2011, he ran less later in his career and upped his power. In fact, he is only a few years removed from setting career highs with 28 homers and 74 RBI in 2019.

There was some thought New York would bring Gardner back again this season, but room was scarce since Aaron Judge, Joey Gallo, Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton are the team's top four outfielders.

Additionally, the Yanks have a utility player in Marwin Gonzalez who can play the corner outfield spots, and they have a speedy extra outfielder in Tim Locastro.

There is also little incentive for the Yankees to sign Gardner now, as they are riding a hot streak and own the best record in Major League Baseball at 23-8.

That could change if injury issues crop up during the season, but there is no indication New York is looking to bring Gardner back into the fold.

Regardless of what the future holds for Gardner, he will always be viewed as a fan favorite among Yankees supporters and could make sense as a coach down the line if he wants to pursue that line of work.

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman called out Houston Astros owner Jim Crane before Thursday's game against the Chicago White Sox for comparing the Pinstripes' $100,000 fine for using their dugout phone to relay signs in 2015 and '16 to Houston's major 2017 sign-stealing scandal that resulted in a World Series title. 

"I don't think anybody's going to dance to the tune he's singing," Cashman said, according to ESPN's Marly Rivera. "I'd say it's called deflection, him trying to equate probably ... an equivalent of a parking ticket to maybe 162 felonies."

Earlier this week, Crane called out Cashman for mentioning the Astros' sign-stealing scandal as one of the reasons the Yankees have not won a championship since 2009. Houston eliminated New York in Game 7 of the 2017 ALCS to reach the World Series.

All of the Yankees' losses in that series were on the road at Minute Maid Park, where the Astros used trash can banging as a way to relay signs. 

“I found his comments to be extremely strange,’’ Crane told USA Today's Bob Nightengale. “There’s the letter, and you were doing it, too. You were there dude. What are you talking about? If I was one of the teams, and I knew our team was doing it [cheating], I’d keep my mouth shut and just go about our business. But listen, I can only control what’s going on here. I can’t control what the other guys do.’’

A letter MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred sent to the Yankees in 2017 became public last month. The letter revealed that an investigation found the Bronx Bombers guilty of stealing signs in 2015 and parts of 2016 by using the dugout phone and video replay room to decode and communicate signs. 

Cashman's comments about the Astros sign-stealing scandal came during spring training, before Manfred's letter was made public. He told The Athletic's Andy McCullough that the only thing that stopped the Yankees from winning the World Series "was something that was so illegal and horrific."

He added: "So I get offended when I start hearing we haven't been to the World Series since '09. Because I'm like, 'Well, I think we actually did it the right way.' Pulled it down, brought it back up. Drafted well, traded well, developed well, signed well. The only thing that derailed us was a cheating circumstance that threw us off."

While the Yankees were fined only $100,000, the Astros received a much harsher punishment for banging on trash cans to relay signs in 2017. Houston was fined $5 million and forced to forfeit its first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021. In addition, former manager AJ Hinch and former general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended for one year. 

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman isn't going to publicly speak about any potential contract negotiations the team has with Aaron Judge. 

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Cashman addressed the Yankees' stance on talks with Judge. 

"We're not going to talk about it now going forward," Cashman said. "Whether that means we're not going to talk, I'm not saying that, but we're not going to talk about it [publicly]. But he's been great. But that's no surprise, because he is great."

It's unclear if Judge even intends to engage the Yankees in contract talks during the season. He set a self-imposed deadline of Opening Day for the two sides to get a deal done before he tabled discussions until the offseason. 

After no deal was reached, Cashman told reporters on April 8 that New York's final offer to Judge was for seven years and $213.5 million. 

That deal would have been added to the $17 million New York offered Judge through arbitration for this season, bringing the total value to $230.5 million over eight years. (Judge filed for $21 million in arbitration, per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.)

Based on current contracts, the $230.5 million in total value would have made Judge the 13th-highest paid player in Major League Baseball. The $28.8 million average annual salary would have ranked 16th among active contracts. 

Per Brendan Kuty of NJ.com, Judge was seeking a deal of at least nine years and more than the $30.5 million per season than New York's seven-year extension included. 

Judge certainly deserves to be paid like one of the best players in MLB. The three-time All-Star has a .277/.384/.558 slash line with 168 homers in 600 career games. He has two top-four finishes in AL MVP voting. 

The Yankees are right to take a somewhat cautious approach in negotiations with Judge. The California native was an older player when he made his MLB debut at the age of 24. He just turned 30 on April 26 and missed a total of 142 regular-season games from 2018-20. 

It's a complicated situation for both Judge and the Yankees. Regardless of how things play out between them, it isn't affecting either side's performance in 2022. He leads MLB with 10 homers and the Yankees' 21-8 record is the best mark in baseball.   

Three members of the Boston Red Sox organization, including catcher Kevin Plawecki, tested positive for COVID-19.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters the two other positive tests came from staffers who don't work in coaching roles. Cora added that Plawecki has been vaccinated.

Connor Wong, who opened the season with the Worcester Red Sox in Triple-A, will be added to the active roster to replace Plawecki ahead of Monday's game against the Minnesota Twins.

Wong will back up Christian Vazquez, who was given the start behind the plate.

Plawecki has appeared in four games this season, going 1-for-10 with one RBI. He started Sunday's 8-1 win over the Twins.

Wong made his MLB debut last June and logged six appearances. A third-round pick in the 2017 draft, he has a .272/.332/.494 slash line with 56 home runs and 186 RBI over 295 appearances in the minors.

Ahead of the regular season, MLB and the MLB Players Association amended the COVID-19 protocols to cease regular testing for asymptomatic individuals. Under the terms of the protocols, Plawecki could miss 10 days but has the opportunity to expedite his return.

Beyond Plawecki, Cora said he's bracing for multiple members of the roster to be unavailable when the Red Sox begin their four-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays on April 25. Unvaccinated players are unable to travel into Canada.

The Boston Red Sox "haven't engaged in any contract conversations" with starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, according to WEEI's Rob Bradford.

Bradford added that the right-hander prefers not to negotiate a new deal during the 2022 MLB season. However, "there is an expectation" his representatives could discuss terms with the Red Sox once the season ends. 

Next winter is shaping up to be a pivotal period in Boston. Eovaldi and J.D. Martinez are due to hit free agency, while Xander Bogaerts can opt out of the $80 million he's owed over the next four seasons. Meanwhile, Rafael Devers can hit free agency after the 2023 season.

According to the New York Post's Jon Heyman, the gap between what the Red Sox were offering Devers and Bogaerts and what the players wanted might have been $100 million or more.

While he's unlikely to command ace-level money, Eovaldi will figure to have a lot of suitors should he reach the open market.

The 32-year-old finished fourth in the American League Cy Young voting in 2021 after going 11-9 with a 3.75 ERA and an AL-leading 2.79 FIP in 32 appearances. He hasn't gotten off to a great start in 2022 (allowing four home runs and five earned runs over 10 innings), but it's still very early. 

The state of the Red Sox's starting rotation heightens the need to retain Eovaldi beyond 2022.

Behind him, Boston is leaning on Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, Tanner Houck and Nick Pivetta as its starters. Chris Sale is on the 60-day injured list, and James Paxton is still recovering from his Tommy John surgery.

What the Red Sox decide to do with Eovaldi won't make or break their championship hopes in 2023, but it will clearly signal their short-term goals for next year.

At $7.01 billion, the New York Yankees are once again the most valuable franchise in Major League Baseball in 2022.

As seen in the graph tweeted by Sportico's Michael McCann, the Yanks lead the way, followed by the rival Boston Red Sox at $5.07 billion, while the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants round out the top five:

The same teams occupied the top five spots last year as well, although the Yankees saw their value rise from $6.75 billion in 2021.

In fact, the same 10 teams are represented in the top 10 of Sportico's list this year compared to last, with the only difference being that the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels swapped places. Atlanta went from eighth to seventh.

Of course, the Braves are coming off their first World Series championship since 1995.

As Sportico's Kurt Badenhausen noted, the average MLB franchise is worth $2.31 billion in 2022, although there is a sizable gap between the teams.

The five most valuable MLB teams are worth $25 billion in total, which means they are propping up the average value significantly compared to teams near the bottom of the rankings, such as the Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics, all of whom have a value of $1.34 billion or lower.

The $2.31 billion average value is a 5 percent increase from last season with jersey advertisement patches and an expanded postseason playing a role, per Badenhausen.

That increase is aided by the fact that only two franchises—the Marlins and Baltimore Orioles—saw their value fall compared to last year. Meanwhile, the Houston Astros had the biggest rise in value since 2021 at 10 percent.

It comes as little surprise that the most profitable and valuable teams all reside in huge markets, including two teams from New York City (Yankees and Mets) and Los Angeles (Dodgers and Angels) inside the top eight.

The Yankees are traditionally at or near the top of such lists on an annual basis, as they are among the most valuable franchises not only in MLB but in all of sports.

For the past three years, the Yankees have finished second only to the NFL's Dallas Cowboys on Forbes' list of the most valuable sports teams in the world, but Badenhausen reported that they are now the most valuable sports franchise in the world for 2022.

Despite their value, the success fans have come to expect has largely eluded them. Although the Yanks have reached the playoffs the past five seasons and haven't had a losing record since 1992, they also haven't won or reached a World Series since 2009.

The Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs and Giants have all won a World Series more recently, as have teams outside the top 10 in valuation, such as the Astros (11th), Washington Nationals (12th) and Royals (28th).

New York could also be in danger of losing superstar outfielder Aaron Judge to free agency during the offseason, as the sides have yet to come to terms on a new deal. But based on the fact that the Yankees are worth over $7 billion, letting him walk for financial reasons would be a tough sell to the fanbase.

The Boston Red Sox announced Sunday that they have signed reliever Garrett Whitlock to a four-year contract extension that spans 2023-26 with club options for 2027 and 2028. 

The deal is reportedly worth a total of $18.75 million from 2023-26, according to ESPN. The club options are worth $8.25 million in 2027 and $10.5 million in 2028, ESPN added. 

Whitlock said in a press conference Sunday, according to MLB.com's Ian Browne:

“Absolutely. I mean, it's still so surreal. It's crazy. It really hasn't felt like it has hit yet. You know, as me and Jordan were talking this morning, it was just like two years ago -- I was working two jobs, you know, trying to survive the COVID season and everything like that. And so, now, just to be sitting here doing this, it's all very surreal.”

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom added:

“This is a great day. You all know the talent that Garrett has that's been on display from Day One in Fort Myers last year, all the way up through October. I think a lot of you also know the person that he is -- and when you make this type of commitment, that's just as important. He works hard. He competes. He’s a really good teammate. He's humble. He wants to learn. He respects everyone.”

The Red Sox landed Whitlock by selecting him in the Rule 5 draft from the New York Yankees. The Pinstripes left him unprotected for the draft after he underwent Tommy John surgery. 

The 25-year-old burst onto the scene with Boston during the 2021 season. He appeared in 46 games, posting an 8-4 record with a 1.96 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 81 strikeouts across 73.1 innings. 

It was an impressive season for Whitlock, who was one of Boston's better relievers last season. There was talk of him potentially entering the starting rotation as the Red Sox used him as a starter during spring training. However, Rich Hill earned the team's final rotation spot. 

If Hill or any of Boston's other starters struggle this year, it's possible Whitlock sees some time in the rotation. 

This season, he has appeared in one game, allowing two hits, one of which was a home run, and striking out four batters in 2.1 innings against the Yankees on Opening Day in the Bronx. 

The Red Sox enter Sunday's game against the Yankees having lost two straight games to the Bronx Bombers. Tanner Houck will be on the mound for the final game of the series before the team travels to Detroit for a series against the Tigers.