It appears as though the Boston Red Sox won't let their star infielders leave without a fight.
The Red Sox plan to try and restart extension talks with shortstop Xander Bogaerts and third baseman Rafael Devers after their season ends, ESPN's Buster Olney reports.
Boston inked Bogaerts to a six-year, $120-million extension in 2020 that was seen as a team-friendly deal. However, he's widely expected to opt out of that contract after completing a stellar 2022 campaign. The 29-year-old enters Sunday hitting .306/.376/.447 and made his fourth career All-Star appearance last month.
Devers, meanwhile, is also enjoying another All-Star campaign, slashing .303/.360/.570 with 24 homers and 60 RBIs. The 25-year-old won't be a free agent until after next season, but Boston's attempts to lock him up long term have been futile thus far.
Rumors picked up ahead of the Aug. 2 deadline that one or both of Bogaerts and Devers could be traded as the Red Sox lost ground in the playoff race. Ultimately, both players remained in Boston, and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom stated the club wants to keep them.
The Red Sox traded another young homegrown star, Mookie Betts, before the 2020 season after the sides couldn't agree on a long-term deal.
