Three additional thoughts the day after the Red Sox signed Rafael Devers to an 11-year, $331-million contract extension...
1. This is now Devers' team.
Turnover is part of the game, now more than ever. Want further evidence? Just four players remain from the last Red Sox championship team in 2018 -- Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier, Chris Sale and Devers.
Brasier isn't guaranteed a spot on the Opening Day roster and Sale has barely contributed since 2019. Devers, meanwhile, is the lone position player left over from that club, and he just so happens to be the most important player on the roster -- hence, Wednesday's massive contract extension.
Devers has remained while Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Christian Vazquez, Dustin Pedroia, Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr., Nathan Eovaldi, Xander Bogaerts and others have all moved on -- either via trade, free agency or retirement.
The Red Sox have added some significant newcomers this winter, including veterans Justin Turner and Kenley Jansen and Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida. Turner and Jansen could emerge as leaders, but because they're new to the team, it will take some time for them to exert their influence.
Devers, meanwhile, has been part of the Red Sox since 2017. That doesn't exactly rival Carl Yastrzemski and his 23 consecutive seasons in a Red Sox uniform when it comes to tenure and standing, but for now, it will have to do.
Devers might not appear to be the natural leader that his close friend Bogaerts was. Bogaerts spoke four languages fluently and could appeal to and communicate with any teammate. He was comfortable in his role as unofficial team captain and de facto spokesman. After an important win or a crushing defeat, Bogaerts could be counted on to answer questions from the media.
It will take some time for Devers to attain that comfort level. To his credit, he's worked on his command of English, to the degree that he now understands most of what is being asked of him without relying on a translator. And while he's occasionally conducted brief interviews in English and can hold informal conversations in his adopted language, he's still not quite at the point where he's completely confident in his English speaking skills.
That will likely come over time. But even if it doesn't, he'll be the focal point for the franchise going forward. He'll be at the center of the lineup, and he'll be the one management will come to when it comes to taking the temperature of the clubhouse.
It may take some time for Devers to grow into that role. Just last year, the team belonged to Bogaerts and Devers had the luxury of remaining in the background. No more.
With the new contract comes additional responsibility.
2. Wondering why the Red Sox made re-signing Devers a bigger priority than Bogaerts? Check their birthdates.
Bogaerts turned 30 last October; weeks later, Devers turned 26.
Both players made their major league debuts with the Red Sox at 20. But remember, too, that Bogaerts had already signed an extension with the Red Sox in 2019 and was halfway through it when he opted out and ultimately landed in San Diego.
Devers, meanwhile, had completed five and a half seasons with the Sox before agreeing to his deal Wednesday. And because of that, he will play out the final year of his deal at 36; Bogaerts, by contrast, will be playing at 40.
That's a big gap. Thanks to advances in training, nutrition and other areas, players can remain very productive into their mid-30s. The National League MVP in 2022 was 35-year-old Paul Goldschmidt. Freddie Freeman finished fourth at 33. In 2020, the AL MVP was Jose Abreu, then 33.
The Red Sox can reasonably expect Devers to be an All-Star caliber player for much of the duration of his new deal, even if it's possible he might have to shift positions as he ages. Can the same be said for the second half of Bogaerts' contract? Probably not.
Teams are committing to these mega-length contracts for two reasons. First, it's necessary to compete for the best players on the market. And second, longer deals make it somewhat easier to spread out the CBT liability of these massive salaries.
But they also do so knowing that they're unlikely to realize peak performance over the final years of the deal. Put simply, knowing that you might regret the contract over the last few years is the part of the built-in cost of doing business.
That won't necessarily be the case with Devers -- assuming, that is, that Devers keeps himself in good condition.
3. Even with the extension, the Red Sox have more work to do.
The announcement buys the Red Sox some goodwill with the fan base and helps silence, for now at least, any suggestion that the franchise won't pay the going rate to keep its own best players. That's a not insignificant development for an ownership group and chief baseball officer who were under fire in the aftermath of Betts and Bogaerts leaving.
Extending Devers -- and removing what was sure to be incessant trade rumors had he gone into the season without a new deal -- is the single biggest positive step taken by the Red Sox in years.
But even if the Red Sox had signed both Bogaerts and Devers this offseason, they would still only be bringing back key parts of a roster that finished last in the division in 2022.
Sure, the additions of Jansen, Turner, Yoshida, Corey Kluber and Chris Martin have made the Red Sox better.
But how much better? Good enough to get out of the division cellar? Maybe. Good enough to be a playoff team? Not as currently constituted.
There's still the matter of who will play shortstop. If it's Trevor Story, they'll need a second baseman. If it's Kiké Hernandez, they'll need a center fielder. And if's not either of them, they'll need a shortstop.
Understand this, too: whoever plays short for the Red Sox in 2022, it's doubtful he'll be as good as Bogaerts.
Because they've upgraded elsewhere -- the bullpen, overall depth in the pitching staff, the on-base ability of the lineup -- the Red Sox may be able to overcome that dropoff at a critical position. But until they acquire an impact middle-of-the-diamond player, the Red Sox aren't demonstrably improved.
For all the understandable enthusiasm that the extension for Devers proiduced, they're merely back to ground zero.