FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Even if they weren't fast approaching the conclusion of their current contracts, a case could be made that Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts are the two most consequential players on the Red Sox roster.
Devers, still just 25, has developed into one of the game's most feared sluggers. In his last two full seasons, he's averaged 35 homers and received MVP consideration both times. He led all of baseball in total bases in 2019 and in 2021, led the Red Sox in most offensive categories, including slugging percentage, homers and total bases.
Bogaerts, meanwhile, has captured the Silver Slugger for American League shortstops twice in the last three years and four times in the last seven. He's posted an OPS of at least .863 in each of the last four seasons and leads all shortstops in WAR since the start of 2018.
But each is hurtling toward a crossroads of sorts with the Sox. Bogaerts, who signed a team-friendly extension at the start of 2019, has the ability to opt out after this year. Devers, meanwhile, is under control for just two more seasons before qualifying for free agency at the end of 2023.
Both team president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom have praised both players in recent days and identified the stars as two players the Sox hope to retain.
But each day that passes without either signing a contract extension pushes the players one step closer to leaving town.
When Bogaerts signed his six-year, $120 million extension in April of 2019, less than a week into the season, it was at his behest. He committed to a team-friendly deal at the time to facilitate the extension, expressing how important it was for him to remain with the Sox.
But the value of his contract -- even at the time -- was said to be below-market, and at the urging of agent Scott Boras, got himself the ability to opt out after the upcoming season.
If Bogaerts was underpaid in 2019, his compensation is substantially below market now. Since then, Francisco Lindor signed a 10-year, $341 million contract extension with the New York Mets and more recently, Corey Seager landed a 10-year, $325 million deal with the Texas Rangers. Both easily eclipse the AAV (average annual value) of the Bogaerts deal.
"They're setting the market pretty different,'' acknowledged Bogaerts.
Spring training is ordinarily the time that teams look to extend their own players, but the dynamic is far different this season. Following the end of the lockout last week, a second Hot Stove League season began, with free-agents signings and trades happening in a manner unprecedented for March. That, and the shortened spring training, makes it more difficult to focus on such talks.
"We don't have much time if that's going to happen,'' said Bogaerts. "Obviously, I enjoy being here. Everybody knows it. I think that's pretty clear. We have time, but not as much time as we normally do. You're aware; you see what's going on (with the shortstop market). You have to be a little open-minded. But like I said, I enjoy my time here. Obviously, I want to be here for a long time. We'll see what happens.''
Complicating matters for the Red Sox are some of the poor defensive metrics surrounding Bogaerts. While he's become more sure-handed with age, committing just nine errors in 138 games last year, some of the advanced metrics suggest his range is among the poorest at his position.
Manager Alex Cora, one of Bogaerts' biggest backers, emphasized the star's reliability Tuesday.
"It all depends on how on how you measure it,'' said Cora. "He was my shortstop in the (2018) World Series, he was my shortstop in the (2021) wild card game. I bet there's a lot of managers out there, if you ask them, 'Who do you want in a big game playing shortstop?' they'll say Xander. And I feel the same way.''
Still, the sub-par metrics have led to some speculation that the Sox could potentially move Bogaerts to second, while pursuing a big-name free agent such as Carlos Correa, whose defensive skill level is unmatched.
But Bogaerts sounded as if he would want nothing to do with a change of positions.
"I'm a shortstop, man,'' said Bogaerts. "That's where I've played my whole career and obviously that's a position I take a lot of pride in. I think if you look at my numbers, they've been pretty good for these years. I love being there. Why would I think of playing second or third if I'm playing short? I don't see any sense in that. Just going out there and playing shortstop and trying to get better, for me personally, defensively (is my focus).''
The chatter got loud enough over the winter that Bogaerts half-jokingly said: "Sometimes, I don't even know if I'm on the team, you know? I'm here. It's out of my control. I really can't do much about it. But sometimes you see it and you're like, 'Hey, I exist. I'm here. But it is what it is.''
Another variable for the Sox to consider: the presence of last year's first-round pick Marcello Mayer, who could arrive by the 2024 season. Do the Sox want to have Bogaerts in his 30s blocking the way for a younger star shortstop?
Then there is Devers, who faces a more conventional free-agent path after 2023. The Red Sox probably don't want to head into spring training next year with Devers unsigned beyond that season, since that exact scenario led them to deal off Mookie Betts two years ago.
To date, Devers hasn't been approached by the team with a contract extension offer -- due, again, in no small part to this spring's unusual nature and the myriad things requiring Bloom's more immediate attention.
"We haven't talked about that,'' said Devers. "But obviously, this is a great place to play baseball. But I'm not really focused on that right now. I'm just focused on playing the season and seeing where it goes from there. Obviously, this is the team that gave me the chance to be in the big leagues and I'm so comfortable here with the staff. This feels like home. Obviously, I would love to play here (longer).
"We'll see what happens. I'm not trying to focus too much on that. I'm not going to let that affect my play. I'm just going to go out there and do the best that I can. If they talk to me and we get a deal done, great. If not, I can't control that part of it. All I can do is control what I can do on the field.''
Like Bogaerts, Devers is a brilliant offensive performer, but not without his own defensive deficiencies. He tends to commit errors in bunches, and the miscues often seem driven by lapses in focus as much as anything physical.
Unlike with Bogaerts, however, the Red Sox do not currently have a top prospect poised to take over for Devers should he depart.
For now, the Sox don't have to be hurried into anything. But even before the first pitch of the 2022 season is thrown, if you listen closely, you can hear the clock ticking on the Boston careers of two left-side infielders without whom the team would look far different.