Xander Bogaerts

All-Star voting is a popularity contest every year, so it's easy to see how the process could be frustrating for players who feel they've been routinely passed over.

Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts expressed that sentiment to WEEI.com's Rob Bradford after he sat sixth at his position in the most recent MLB All-Star voting returns.

"These past few years every time I've come up just short even though my numbers have been up there or better than most of the guys," Bogaerts said Tuesday. "It's just so weird. I just miss out when in my opinion I should have been there. I just feel like it's a routine, every year the same thing. It's kind of getting annoying. But I don't know what to do."

Bogaerts has reason to feel aggrieved this year. Through 72 games, he's batting .300 with 14 home runs, 48 RBI and a .923 OPS. Not only does he lead all shortstops in WAR (3.4), he's fourth among all position players, per FanGraphs.

Beyond simply being an All-Star, Bogaerts deserves a place in the MVP conversation, and he explained how he values being perceived as an elite shortstop.

"It would definitely mean a lot to me," he said. "You work your whole career to be a world champion, and I have two of those. I think it would be recognized for the performance that you do to help your team to hopefully get there. As I said, the numbers speak for themselves. I don't understand how it's like that."

Bogaerts was an All-Star in 2016, and the good news is that he's playing so well it will be almost impossible to keep him off this year's team.

Climbing into the starting lineup will be tough because 155,594 votes stand between him and New York Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres, who's third place in the voting. This is the first year of MLB's new voting process, which sees the top three vote-getters at each position move into the next round when the votes are reset.

Assuming Bogaerts fails to make the cut, he's a lock to be a reserve for the American League's infield.

The Boston Red Sox announced Monday that they have agreed to a six-year contract extension with shortstop Xander Bogaerts.

Bogaerts' new contract spans the 2020-2025 seasons and has a vesting option for the 2026 season, per the Red Sox.

Evan Drellich of WEEI first reported the news Sunday, with Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reporting the deal is worth $120 million. Joel Sherman of the New York Post added the agreement has an opt-out clause after the third season.

This continues a pattern of notable players signing extensions this offseason. Gabe Lacques of USA Today noted 22 players signed extensions rather than wait for free agency before the Bogaerts discussions, and called the proliferation of such moves a response to a "broken" free-agency system.

Pitchers Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel are still unsigned, and even sluggers Bryce Harper and Manny Machado had a small handful of teams interested in them before signing with the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres, respectively.

Mike Trout, Justin Verlander, Chris Sale, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Alex Bregman, Jacob deGrom, Blake Snell, Aaron Nola, Kyle Hendricks and Eloy Jimenez were among those who recently signed contract extensions.

As for Bogaerts, he already has two World Series crowns and an All-Star appearance (2016) since coming into the league with the Red Sox in 2013. He also won Silver Sluggers in 2015 and 2016 and impressed last year with a .288/.360/.522 slash line, 23 home runs and 103 RBI.

He is only 26 years old, and Boston is on the brink of ensuring he will be part of a core that will look to add more World Series titles in the coming years.