Boras discusses Bogaerts talks
While at Fenway Park for Thursday afternoon’s introduction of newly signed left fielder Masataka Yoshida, agent Scott Boras discussed another client’s departure from the Red Sox. Boras said the 11-year, $280 million deal shortstop Xander Bogaerts ended up signing with the Padres was in line with what he’d expected at the start of the process.
If indeed he’d anticipated where the bidding would go, does Boras believe the Red Sox — whose last formal offer to Bogaerts was for six years and approximately $160 million — miscalculated the market?
“I’m not sure it’s about miscalculation as much as it is about choices. You choose to pursue players,” said Boras. “[The Red Sox] chose to pursue [Yoshida] at levels that many other teams didn’t have him at. And teams chose to pursue Xander at levels that some teams didn’t have him at. You see that in the industry.”
Boras suggested Bogaerts was extremely happy with both his deal and where he ended up.
“What’s Xander’s goal? Winning. What’s also his goal? He wants his appropriate valuation in the market,” said Boras. “We found that on a number of levels for him and chose that. For [the Red Sox], their model had a different modality with it and they moved forward with it.”
Boras believes the presence of top prospect Marcelo Mayer in the Red Sox farm system may have influenced how the team approached Bogaerts.
“There’s a certain shortstop that they have down in the minor leagues that they want to play here I would imagine,” said Boras. “Pretty good ballplayer.”
Boras said Bogaerts was offered some “shorter-term” contracts with higher average annual values than the $25.45 million per year that the Padres will pay him. How short a term?
“When I say shorter term, I meant seven or eight years,” said Boras with a chuckle. “That’s our Boras Corp. short-term contract.”
Boras has already secured enormous contracts this winter for clients Carlos Correa (13 years, $350 million from the San Francisco Giants), Bogaerts, Brandon Nimmo (8 years, $126 million from the New York Mets), and Yoshida. He still has clients on the market, including former Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez and infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar.
Moments after the media availability to introduce Yoshida, Boras concluded a deal with the Sox’ rivals, negotiating a six-year, $162 million deal with the New York Yankees for lefthander Carlos Rodón. The latestage negotiations took place as Boras snacked on food from a buffet provided by the Red Sox.
Downs, in Betts deal, DFA’d
On a day when the Red Sox officially announced the signing of Yoshida, the club cleared a roster spot for the left fielder in a fashion that amplified the pain for a landmark transaction. To add Yoshida to their 40-man roster, the Sox designated middle infielder Jeter Downs for assignment.
Downs was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020 (alongside outfielder Alex Verdugo and catcher Connor Wong )asa key part of the Mookie Betts trade — a top100 prospect coming off a fantastic 2019 season in the minors (.276/.362/.526 with 24 homers and 24 steals combined in High-A and Double-A). Originally, the Sox had agreed to a deal to send Betts and pitcher David Price to the Dodgers for Verdugo and Brusdar Graterol, but concerns about Graterol’s medicals led the team to replace the pitcher in the deal with Downs and Wong.
But after spending the 2020 season at the Sox’ alternate training site during the COVID-19 shutdown of the minor leagues, Downs cratered offensively in two seasons in Triple-A, hitting .193/.292/.368 with a 31.1 percent strikeout rate. He did reach the big leagues this year, but in 14 games with the Sox, he hit .154/.171/.256 with 21 strikeouts in 41 plate appearances.
Downs made significant strides on defense in his time in the organization. But his soaring swing-and-miss rates against experienced competition in Triple-A and the majors resulted in a downgrade from a top prospect who appeared to have a chance at being an above-average big league second baseman to a player who will need to make significant progress as a hitter to have any kind of a future.
“This was a tough one. The fact that he was in a position where we considered him and chose him to be designated I think just speaks to some of the struggles we’ve had getting him on track,” said chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. “I still think there’s a lot of physical ability there, but we haven’t been able to unlock it consistently.”
It’s possible that Downs could clear waivers and get outrighted to Triple A Worcester. If so, the Sox believe the 24year-old can still emerge as a big leaguer.
“Certainly he’s still young and there’s no reason to write him off,” said Bloom. “But he’s obviously had some struggles. I’m glad he was able to get to the big leagues with us, glad he was able to have a moment with us here at Fenway, help us win a big game. That was a lot of fun for a lot of people, but obviously we haven’t been able to get him to that success as consistently as anybody would like with Jeter.”