by Winslow Townson/Getty Images Shot
) It’s no secret that the Philadelphia Phillies can use upgrades at shortstop, and it looks like they’ve got their sights set on one of the top players coming this winter.
If Xander Bogaerts declines the player option in his contract with the Boston Red Sox for the 2023 season, the Phillies “will be the Veteran’s eager suitor” Boston Globe .
The Bogaerts are expected to waive their $20 million player option in 2023 to pursue a bigger deal. If he chooses to join, he will sign a $20 million-a-year contract with the Red Sox during the 2026 campaign.
After Minnesota Twins’ Carlos Correa ($35.1 million per year), New York Mets Team’s Francisco Lindor ($34.1 million per year) and Texas Rangers’ Corey Seager ($33 million per year) have cashed in on those deals over the past year or so, and Bogartes has made no sense. Strange in pursuit of a more lucrative deal.
The Red Sox offered Bogart a one-year extension during spring training, which would put him in trouble for a one-year extension Four-year, $90 million new contract. However, according to The New York Post .
Boston has not made any other offers to Bogart since the start of the 2022 season. According to ESPN’s Joon Lee, the 29-year-old said in April that he won’t be negotiating this season because he doesn’t want to affect the team “in that distracting way.”
“They didn’t deserve it,” Bogartz said. “We had time to get something done. It didn’t work out.”
Phillies’ interest in Bogart It makes sense for his relationship with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who held the same role with the Red Sox from 2015-19. He made his Red Sox debut in 2013 and went on to make four All-Star, four Silver A stick award and two World Series champions. Despite Boston’s poor season, the Aruba native is in a respectable game In 131 games, he hit .318/0.384/0.473 with 13 home runs, 65 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.
Bogaerts’ best season in Boston was in 2019 when he hit .309/.384/.555 in 155 games , hit 33 home runs, 117 RBIs and 4 steals. He received an All-Star selection, a Silver Rod Award, and finished fifth in that year’s American League MVP voting.
The 10-year veteran is a great deal for the Phillies, who are relying on rookie Bryson Stott as shortstop this year. For that matter, it would be a nice upgrade. And, considering the team is currently vying for a playoff spot, adding Bogart next year could put the team in a solid playoff spot. If Bogaerts will sign with the Phillies or elsewhere in 2023, the Red Sox may sign Trevor Story switches back to shortstop. Story signed a six-year, $140 million contract with the Red Sox in March and played second base most of the year.
