Tag Archives: Xander

BREAKING: Chris Sale is staying with the Boston Red Sox

Leave a reply

One of the Red Sox stars who was facing free agency has now re-upped with the club. Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Rick Porcello are still yet to commit their futures to the team, but for now, Chris Sale is staying with Boston. All offseason the discussion has been central to Mookie Betts and his extension. But when Chris Sale said “My phone is on”, in reference to extension talks, Dombrowski knew what he needed to get done.

In the couple months since Sale’s comments, the two sides were working hard on a new contract. Dombrowski gave up a lot to bring Chris Sale to Boston, and wasn’t going to let him just walk away. He was facing free agency at the end of this season, a luxury Sale has never experienced.

Entering 2013, Sale agreed to a deal to buy out his remaining arbitration years. He signed an incredibly team friendly deal of 5 years and 32 million in total. In three seasons with the Red Sox, he’ll have made roughly just 30 million with incentives. This is absolutely nothing relative to how good he’s been since he’s got here, and all the leadership he’s provided (especially in a certain World Series comeback).

Sale Gets Breaded Up:

Which brings us to his new deal, finally paying Chris Sale what he deserves. The deal was agreed upon between the two sides Friday afternoon. It’s a five year deal stretching from 2020, through 2024, with a value around 150 million total. This would make the average annual value about 30 million. Certainly not a bargain, but for one of the top 5 or 10 pitchers in the league, it’s a reasonable price tag.

Questions will be asked about the durability of Sale. Or if the fatigue he’s experienced in cohesion with arm issues will subdue. The hope for the Red Sox is that it does. The hope is that he can put these issues behind him. Also the hope is for him to use his off-speed pitches to help himself become more of a finesse pitcher. With a guy who has faced issues with falling off later in the season, this much money is slightly concerning.

He absolutely has earned every penny of it, and more. But for the Red Sox, this deal is certainly a risk. They now have close to 100 million tied up in four starting pitchers (Sale, Porcello, David Price and Nathan Eovaldi).

What this Means for Boston’s future

The hope is Sale keeping his form and maintaining consistent seasons with an ERA around 3. If this happens for the next few years, this contract will be completely justifiable. Could Sale have tested the open market and/or pushed for a contract with 35+ million a year? Sure he could’ve. He decided to stay faithful to the team that had faith in him, and I think he’s going to reward this team for locking him up. The deal allows the team to still be flexible enough to sign Mookie, and hopefully Xander, while still keeping a huge piece in Sale around.

Does he possibly have a Cy Young in his future? Find out!

Good move Dombrowski, now make Mookie next.

Bogaerts

It’s Time To Appoint Xander Bogaerts As Captain Of The Red Sox

Leave a reply

The Boston Red Sox in 2018 are a machine. It seems as if they can do no wrong, even though some may point out there are (few) vulnerabilities in this team. However, there is one thing missing from this team, and has been since David Ortiz’s departure. The Red Sox are missing a true voice of leadership. Who could fill the void – Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia, or another candidate?

The Red Sox are running rampant on opposing teams. They are young, athletic, and their talent is proving to be almost unmatched every time they step on the diamond. Their inevitable trip into the postseason is backed by having two of the best players in baseball, and a record that is currently seven wins better than the defending World Series champions. A certain presence has always been absent since David Ortiz left and even though the Sox replaced the power presence with JD Martinez, something is still missing. A clubhouse leader is almost as important as anything else; think of it as a 10th position, at times.

Tek: The Last Captain

The last official captain for the Red Sox was the beloved Jason Varitek, who spent his entire career with the club and won two World Series titles in the process. He proudly donned the “C” over his heart on his jersey from the historic 2004 season until his retirement in 2011. He was one of three captains in baseball at the time of the appointment, along with Derek Jeter and Paul Konerko. This is a tradition that Red Sox nation would love to see continued, and this is the perfect time to do exactly that.

Varitek

Courtesy of the Boston Herald

Looking Ahead

Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, Andrew Benintendi and Christian Vazquez are the faces of the team today. This is a new generation of players that will be around for a long time – an untouched core that has been through nearly everything together, comparable to the “Core Four” the Yankees had years ago. Even then, Derek Jeter was appointed captain and took this extra role about as serious as he did his shortstop post.

The shortstop position is seen as the captain of the infield, even by MLB itself. It is the most athletically demanding position and the most pivotal when it comes to calling plays or defensive shifts. Now, I understand that Jason Varitek was a catcher and the catcher may take the role of calling plays or shifts as well. However, with the platoon of Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon and (as of late) Blake Swihart, there is too much inconsistency in appearances. The captain of the team needs to be someone on the field every game, as long as they are healthy.

Why Not Dustin?

This leads us down another rabbit hole: many people will be saying “Well the team has Dustin Pedroia!” Not so fast, buddy. Dustin Pedroia is the longest tenured player on the Red Sox roster currently, true. However, he has downplayed this role multiple times. Dustin has the mentality of the team having more than one voice, and leading together towards success. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with this mentality, but it can’t last forever. This team will eventually go through rough patches, being this season or after. Having a multitude of voices without one to settle the clubhouse could be worrisome.

Dustin Pedroia has even pointed to Xander being the one to bring up the clubhouse’s spirits most of the time.

“I was sitting in the [batting] cage by myself and I was hurting, and Bogey comes in — he’s the happiest kid ever — and he said, ‘Hey, what’s wrong?'” Pedroia said. “I’m like, ‘Man, Bogey, I don’t know if I can. I mean, I’m going to be fine to play, but I hope they throw it right down the middle. You know what I mean? And he goes, ‘Oh man, you’re gonna be fine.’ And I go, ‘Bogey, see that’s what I’m talking about. There are some days when I come in and I need you and we all need each other. So it’s OK to be that guy. Let it come out.’

Bogaerts is the Perfect Candidate

Xander Bogaerts came up late in the 2013 regular season before helping the team win a World Series. He was a breath of fresh air for a team that needed some young, refreshing talent. As far as this core goes, he was second only to Jackie Bradley to come up in the same season. Xander has more of a liking in Boston and a “been there, done that” identity with this club. He’s won a championship, lost in the playoffs, made pivotal plays, and has been on the wrong side of success. As quick as Xander has turned into a young veteran of the club, it’s time to reward him. Being that he is still only 25 years old with 5 years of experience under his belt, he is very relatable to his young teammates.

Mookie, Benintendi and the others can learn a lot about what it’s like to play in a World Series game. Xander is the perfect candidate to impart that knowledge.

@ELJGON