SAN DIEGO -- The first domino in the star-studded free-agent shortstop market fell Monday afternoon, with the news that the Philadelphia Phillies had reached agreement with Trea Turner on an 11-year, $300-million deal.
Shortstop is among the glamour positions in this winter's free agent market, with Carlos Correa, Dansby Swanson and, of course, Xander Bogaerts also available.
The $300 million deal for Turner is the second-biggest contract ever awarded to a free agent contract, behind only Corey Seager's 10-year, $325 million deal with Texas last offseason. Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets is actually the game's highest-paid shortstop with a 10-year, $341 million contract, but that was signed after Lindor was traded from Cleveland to the New York Mets and before Lindor qualified for free agency.
On one hand, the Turner deal could be seen as a positive for the Red Sox in their efforts to retain Bogaerts. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is a big Bogaerts fan and having the Phils choose Turner instead takes one potential landing spot out of play for Bogaerts.
On the other hand, Turner's signing could signal that the shortstop market is going to heat up quickly at a time when the industry perceives the Red Sox to be behind on Bogaerts. And the length of the deal -- 11 years -- could spur Bogaerts (and the others) to seek similarly lengthy deals.
"We knew this was going to be a robust market (for shortstops) and it certainly has been,'' said Bloom. "Nothing about that has surprised us. This is what free agency is about. Talent is going to get paid. We fully expected that he was going to explore the market and that that was going to be a thorough process and that that was going to take time. And that's exactly how it's going to play out.
"It's certainly his right to explore everything that's in front of him. We don't take that to mean he doesn't want to be here and we certainly want him to stay engaged while he's doing it.''
A Boston Globe story Monday indicated that the Sox have yet to present Bogaerts with a "competitive offer,'' which Bloom slightly disputed.
"It's not for me to decide or announce what's competitive and what isn't,'' he said. "We've certainly made offers to him and we certainly been engaged and we're going to stay engaged.
Sometimes, when a star player is exploring the free agent market, there's a courtesy shown to his former team by giving the club a chance to match the best offer on the table. But Bloom hinted the Sox can't necessarily count on that.
"I don't think you ever have that guarantee in free agency with anybody,'' he said. "That's not always how free agency works. Every player can run it the way they want to, but I don't think just because we're his most recent organization, that's not owed to us.''
Bloom also couldn't say whether Turner's agreement could lead Bogaerts, Correa and Swanson to quickly follow suit this week.
"That's not for me to get into his timetable,'' said Bloom. "That could happen. But it's different with every group of players. Sometimes, you see one player sign and it sets off a chain really rapidly. That doesn't always happen. I think we'll see.''
If Bogaerts goes elsewhere, the Red Sox will have to find another option at short, and likely, upgrade offensively at other spots on the diamond to help replace what they've lost. But Bloom said the Sox, for now, can afford to be patient.
"We're not getting to the point where we're closing on the door on Xander,'' said Bloom. "The nature of this game is that you're always making decisions in a fluid environment. Maybe this is a more stark example of that, but it doesn't change all that much. Hopefully, Xander is a big piece of this puzzle that we're building for 2023, but we need to work to get other pieces of the puzzle in place, regardless.''
Still, an executive with another team said to have an interest in Bogaerts questioned whether the Sox are still in the running for the shortstop.
Even with Philadelphia off the board, Chicago, Arizona, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle remain as potential landing spots for Bogaerts. Having given Bogaerts room to see what's available, the Sox might second-guess their strategy. Would they have been better off being more aggressive -- last spring, when the team offered just an additional year at $30 million to the remaining three years and $60 million, or immediately after the season, when the team still had exclusivity.
"We engaged with him extensively right away, made some offers,'' said Bloom. "It was clear he was going to fully explore the market and we respect that. We don't begrudge him that at all. As that's happening, we're engaged with him and being fully part of that process.
Bogaerts is said to be attending the meetings at some point to meet with some interested organizations, but Bloom said he was unsure whether the Sox would meet with him, or even if that's necessary, given his familiarity with the Sox, the only organization he's known since signing as a 16-year old international free agent.
Meanwhile, manager Alex Cora has scheduled a visit with Bogaerts in Arizona, where Bogaerts has been training.
"Obviously, we know where we're at,'' said Cora. "We know what we've done the last few months as far as dealing with Xander and Scott (Boras, agent). We've been very open about it. He's doing everything he has to do to make a decision in the future and hopefully that decision includes the Boston Red Sox. We've been very honest, very genuine, very transparent about the whole thing. But it's a process, just like Turner's was a process and Correa and Swanson, same thing.
"We'll see where it takes us. We've stayed in touch. We're engaged, which is the most important thing. Hopefully, the future of Xander Bogaerts is with the Boston Red Sox and the future of the Boston Red Sox is with Xander Bogaerts.''