Report: Devers expects to hit free agency in 2023 as talks with Red Sox stall

The Boston Red Sox and Rafael Devers are "galaxies apart" in discussions regarding a contract extension, and the star third baseman expects to hit free agency after the 2023 campaign as a result, sources told Joon Lee of ESPN.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom remains optimistic that the team can reach an agreement with the two-time All-Star.

"We will probably, I think, go beyond reason to try to get this done," Bloom said, according to Lee. "Hopefully, we can get this done. There are always going to be limitations - like people can just put something plain out of reach. Some people love to bet on themselves, and I hope he hits 63 homers if he does that."

Boston reportedly upped its offer to more than $200 million in October, but the 26-year-old apparently wants at least a 10-year, $300-million pact.

Devers ranks fourth among MLB third basemen in fWAR since the start of 2019. He owns a .292/.352/.532 slash line with 108 home runs and 359 RBIs in 510 games over that span.