Even before the Red Sox seek improvements from outside their organization, they acknowledged that retaining two of their own stars top their off-season to-do list. Xander Bogaerts can opt out of his current contract after the World Series, and Rafael Devers is under control for just one more season.
Addressing the Bogaerts matter first, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said Thursday: "I never want to make public the blow-by-blow of negotiations. But what I can say is that that process is going to start right away.''
In fact, multiple sources have told BostonSportsJournal.com that it already has. The Red Sox have wasted little time getting to work on getting a new deal done with Bogaerts. The team, including principal owner John Henry and team chairman Tom Werner, has met with Bogaerts "several times,'' in the last week, a source said.
One source said no new proposals were exchanged at the meetings, which were conducted without the presence of Bogaerts' agent, Scott Boras. Rather, the meetings were held to emphasize to Bogaerts that the team wants to retain him and will make him its top priority.
Bogaerts is due to return home to Aruba within days, but his travel plans have been somewhat scuttled by forecasts of a tropical storm in the Caribbean. As late as Thursday night, there remained the possibility that the two sides could meet again before Bogaerts leaves Boston to return home. But by Thursday morning, another meeting seemed unlikely due to logistics.
At a press conference at Fenway in the aftermath of the team's last-place finish in the American League East, team president and CEO Sam Kennedy and Bloom made the team's priorities known.
"Obviously, we know we haven't found that path (to re-signing Bogaerts) yet,'' said Bloom. "We still want to and we're going to work really hard at it.''
Until the end of the World Series, the Red Sox have a degree of exclusivity with Bogaerts, where no other team can approach him. Both from a sense of timing and his value to the team, that makes Bogaerts the first order of business.
"Yeah, just because of the timing of his free agency,'' said Bloom. "Obviously, until we get after the World Series, there's a lot of other things we can plan for and not do (team options, determining whether to present qualifying offers).''
But the sooner the Sox can hash out a deal to keep Bogaerts with the Red Sox, the better off they'll be. After the World Series, other teams can join the bidding and serve to drive up Bogaerts' asking price.
Manager Alex Cora repeatedly used the word "urgency'' Wednesday in describing the team's philosophy for the entire offseason, but it also applies to getting a deal done with Bogaerts.
"That's no different than where we've been,'' said Bloom. "Our position hasn't changed on that. I've said this before, but nothing I say really matters unless there's a deal. But our position has been the same -- that we want to keep him here for a long time and we want him here on a deal that we're going to look back on and say, 'This was great for everybody.' ...We want to build around him and win.''
Though his home run total was down sharply this past season, Bogaerts remained an elite offensive performer, leading the team with a .307 average. He also had 73 RBI and OPS of .833. He was named to the American League All-Star team and his 5.7 WAR was the highest for any shortstop in the game.
Bogaerts turned 30 last week, but his defensive play also improved thanks to some changes in his pre-pitch set-up and his positioning. According to Defensive Info Solutions, Bogaerts was responsible for four defensive runs saved over the course of the year, a figure topped only by eight other starting shortstops in the game.
And despite his age and size, Cora believes Bogaerts could remain at short for years to come.
"The way he trains, the way he moves, the way he goes about his business in the offseason,'' said Cora, "(he can stay there) probably as long as he can handle it. His body hasn't changed in three or four years. And when it changes, it's getting more explosive and stronger. I can't answer (specific number of years), but I do believe we saw strides this year and we asked him to do just a few things. With his work ethic and the way he goes about it, time will tell. But we do believe he played really good this year making a few adjustments.''
There's a crowded shortstop free agent market again, with Carlos Correa also expected to opt out of his deal, joined by Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson. But it's clear the Sox want Bogaerts.
That's also true of Devers, though it's likely the calendar will dictate a slower approach with the third baseman. Typically, contract extensions with players who are still under control don't take place until after the first of the year, when more pressing time-sensitive items have been addressed.
"We would like to (get a new deal done with Devers),'' said Bloom. "He's one of the best players in the game.''
While Bogaerts' can likely command a five- or six-year deal, because of his age -- Devers is about to turn 26 later this month -- the third baseman is likely to command a deal closer in length to 10 years. It's likely that any Red Sox offer to him will be the biggest the franchise has ever proposed to a player.
The longer Devers remains unsigned past 2023, however, the more the talk will intensify that the Red Sox will seek to deal him before next season if they can't get an extension in place. That exact scenario unfolded in February of 2020, when the Sox shipped Mookie Betts to the Dodgers, enraging the fan base.
Realizing that there are no absolutes, Bloom said he didn't see that bit of history repeating itself this offseason.
"I don't generally think we or any organization should be in the business of saying, 'OK, I can guarantee you X or Y,' '' said Bloom. "I think a lot of players I've had this conversation with would agree. In theory, there's always something somebody could put in front of you that would be stupid to walk away from. But that isn't on our radar. He's a guy we want to build around and he's hugely important to what we're doing. We hope he's here, not just next year but in the years to come.''
In recent weeks, Bloom has pointed out two key differences about where the organization sits now and where it was months after he arrived, leading to the trade of Betts.
First, the minor league system has improved dramatically, in terms of quality and quantity. When Bloom arrived, the system was generally ranked among the bottom third of the industry. Now, most experts have it in or near the top third.
Secondly, the Red Sox have far fewer long-term salary commitments on the book compared to three years ago. That gives them far more flexibility when it comes to committing the necessary resources for a deal that would satisfy Devers. This winter alone, the Red Sox have about $90 million coming off the books in salary obligations.
"I hope,'' concluded Kennedy, "we can find a way to not only bring them back or keep them here, extend them, but (also) have a team around them build for success in October. That's the key thing here.''
With Bogaerts on deck first, that work has already begun.