Sox and Xander Bogaerts reportedly nearing contract extension

[notin]

Pedroia's contract offered a yearly savings for sure, but it was LONG... till 37 years old. So 14m a year was more like 18m a year, and may turn out to be more like 22m per year in actual value to the Sox.. unless Pedroia can make a big comeback and play 2 more solid years out of the 3 remaining.

 

Long is usually my sticking point, too. But players like Cano, Votto, Cabrera and Pujols were signing deals into their 40s at that time...

[S5Dewey]

ahahahhahaha. s5 never forgets.

 

IN.

 

It's something no Red Sox fan should ever forget.

 

Now, I'd be the last one to wish any bad luck on Mr. Machado, but it'll be interesting to see how his career unfolds if he continues his dirty play in the NL.

[SCM33]

JD Martinez will come MUCH cheaper than Betts. Age and lack of a position will hurt his negotiation.

 

Martinez will be re-signed, Betts will be a FA.

[vegasbob]

He signed a below market deal? What else could you ask for?

 

Wasn't implying it was Pedey's fault. Just that the dead money contracts, for whatever reason, come with a considerable penalty if you still have to replace the time on the field. I hope we get an effective Pedroia for another 2 -3 years . Actually more concerned about Sale's longevity , even with his favorable AAV.

[vegasbob]

]IMO DD is preparing to let Betts go and keep everyone else he can "afford" to pay. [/color]

 

He may be thinking that the team is better off with 25 solid-to-outstanding players than with one HOF'er and filling the 25 with lesser players. Bill Belichick would agree - although it's pretty hard to say that TB12 isn't a HOF'er .

 

I believe you have figured correctly. Mookie likely feels he can command money somewhere between Harper and Trout, and owes himself that potential shot.

[moonslav59]

Beni is terrible in CF.

 

...he may need time.

 

JD is terrible in LF, but having Chavis DH instead of _____ in CF may be a better idea.

[moonslav59]

We will offer JD and Betts what we think they are worth, and if they walk, we will suffer on the field. Maybe the budget relief will allow for an overall better team, but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

Betts in buttah!

[Kimmi]

Interesting tweet from Speier:

 

Before Bogaerts extension, Red Sox had been trying to preserve flexibility, eyeing possibility of going under the $208M luxury tax threshold in 2020. With Bogaerts, doing so would be hard barring a Martinez free agent departure or trade of arb-eligible player(s)

 

To date, every deal they’ve struck has also been done with an eye towards keeping flexibility to try to sign Betts long-term. They still have that, but if not resetting lux tax rates in 2020, a deal for Betts is more expensive for them.

 

Reading what Dombrowski had to say today, it sounds like they really weren't expecting Bogaerts to sign an extension, and financially speaking, weren't planning on it. The ability to extend Bogaerts has somewhat changed their 'reset' plans.

 

Without a reset, Betts is going to be even more expensive than the mega contract already will be.

[jacksonianmarch]

Betts may sign for $35 mil AAV, but cost the Sox $52 mil + per season

[SCM33]

...he may need time.

 

JD is terrible in LF, but having Chavis DH instead of _____ in CF may be a better idea.

 

JD is terrible when he puts a fielding glove on. Doesn't matter which position.

[Station 13]

This is just getting better. Well done Dombrowski.

[mvp 78]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/xander-bogaerts-is-selectively-aggressive/

 

Since the start of the 2018 season, Bogaerts has found another gear. He’s batting a scintillating .291/.366/.526, good for a 134 wRC+, and the power has miraculously appeared, with his .235 ISO ranking in the 84th percentile among qualifying batters. Still only 26, Bogaerts now looks like one of the best players in the game, full stop. The player fans and scouts saw glimpses of in 2013 is finally here.

 

What did Bogaerts do to tap into his enormous potential? Well, given that his power numbers have spiked across the board while his strikeout and walk numbers have barely budged (18.5% strikeouts and 7.2% walks 2013-2017 versus 18.1% and 10.2% thereafter), it would be easy to say he just started hitting the ball harder. He always looked like he had the potential to do that.

 

Bogaerts has the same strength he’s always had. He’s converting it into usable outcomes at a better rate over the last two years, though, and that’s what shows up in his stats.

 

Take a look at the percentage of batted balls that Bogaerts has barreled up each year since 2015:

 

Barrels per Ball in Play

Year Barrels/BIP

2015 2.51%

2016 5.26%

2017 1.31%

2018 9.83%

2019 11.30%

We’ve found the source of Bogaerts’ increased power, but not what allowed him to tap into it. After all, every player would follow the advice of “just make excellent contact more often” if they could. We need to find something that’s changed that’s letting Bogaerts square the ball up nine times more often in 2019 than he did in 2017. The answer isn’t that surprising, honestly. You’ve probably already guessed it. Bogaerts is getting more power because he’s swinging at the ball in locations where he can do more damage.

 

Xander Bogaerts’ subtle breakout is a lesson in the nuanced ways baseball players can change and improve. You don’t need to get stronger, change your swing to put the ball in the air, or start swinging from your heels to boost your power. You don’t need to be a totally different player. Sometimes, doing something as basic as trying to focus more on the part of the strike zone where you’re good at hitting is all you need to do. Sometimes the batted balls you’re looking for were always there, just covered by the noise of the batted balls you didn’t want.

 

The actual article is much longer and has great info. Everyone, go read it.

[oldtimer]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/xander-bogaerts-is-selectively-aggressive/

 

Since the start of the 2018 season, Bogaerts has found another gear. He’s batting a scintillating .291/.366/.526, good for a 134 wRC+, and the power has miraculously appeared, with his .235 ISO ranking in the 84th percentile among qualifying batters. Still only 26, Bogaerts now looks like one of the best players in the game, full stop. The player fans and scouts saw glimpses of in 2013 is finally here.

 

What did Bogaerts do to tap into his enormous potential? Well, given that his power numbers have spiked across the board while his strikeout and walk numbers have barely budged (18.5% strikeouts and 7.2% walks 2013-2017 versus 18.1% and 10.2% thereafter), it would be easy to say he just started hitting the ball harder. He always looked like he had the potential to do that.

 

Bogaerts has the same strength he’s always had. He’s converting it into usable outcomes at a better rate over the last two years, though, and that’s what shows up in his stats.

 

Take a look at the percentage of batted balls that Bogaerts has barreled up each year since 2015:

 

Barrels per Ball in Play

Year Barrels/BIP

2015 2.51%

2016 5.26%

2017 1.31%

2018 9.83%

2019 11.30%

We’ve found the source of Bogaerts’ increased power, but not what allowed him to tap into it. After all, every player would follow the advice of “just make excellent contact more often” if they could. We need to find something that’s changed that’s letting Bogaerts square the ball up nine times more often in 2019 than he did in 2017. The answer isn’t that surprising, honestly. You’ve probably already guessed it. Bogaerts is getting more power because he’s swinging at the ball in locations where he can do more damage.

 

Xander Bogaerts’ subtle breakout is a lesson in the nuanced ways baseball players can change and improve. You don’t need to get stronger, change your swing to put the ball in the air, or start swinging from your heels to boost your power. You don’t need to be a totally different player. Sometimes, doing something as basic as trying to focus more on the part of the strike zone where you’re good at hitting is all you need to do. Sometimes the batted balls you’re looking for were always there, just covered by the noise of the batted balls you didn’t want.

 

The actual article is much longer and has great info. Everyone, go read it.

 

Excellent points. His great improvement has come when Cora, a new hitting coach and JDM showed up. Do you suppose one of those ( or all) got through to Xander so that he now realizes what a difference swinging at balls in the right part of the zone can do for apparent better contact.

[vegasbob]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/xander-bogaerts-is-selectively-aggressive/

 

Since the start of the 2018 season, Bogaerts has found another gear. He’s batting a scintillating .291/.366/.526, good for a 134 wRC+, and the power has miraculously appeared, with his .235 ISO ranking in the 84th percentile among qualifying batters. Still only 26, Bogaerts now looks like one of the best players in the game, full stop. The player fans and scouts saw glimpses of in 2013 is finally here.

 

What did Bogaerts do to tap into his enormous potential? Well, given that his power numbers have spiked across the board while his strikeout and walk numbers have barely budged (18.5% strikeouts and 7.2% walks 2013-2017 versus 18.1% and 10.2% thereafter), it would be easy to say he just started hitting the ball harder. He always looked like he had the potential to do that.

 

Bogaerts has the same strength he’s always had. He’s converting it into usable outcomes at a better rate over the last two years, though, and that’s what shows up in his stats.

 

Take a look at the percentage of batted balls that Bogaerts has barreled up each year since 2015:

 

Barrels per Ball in Play

Year Barrels/BIP

2015 2.51%

2016 5.26%

2017 1.31%

2018 9.83%

2019 11.30%

We’ve found the source of Bogaerts’ increased power, but not what allowed him to tap into it. After all, every player would follow the advice of “just make excellent contact more often” if they could. We need to find something that’s changed that’s letting Bogaerts square the ball up nine times more often in 2019 than he did in 2017. The answer isn’t that surprising, honestly. You’ve probably already guessed it. Bogaerts is getting more power because he’s swinging at the ball in locations where he can do more damage.

 

Xander Bogaerts’ subtle breakout is a lesson in the nuanced ways baseball players can change and improve. You don’t need to get stronger, change your swing to put the ball in the air, or start swinging from your heels to boost your power. You don’t need to be a totally different player. Sometimes, doing something as basic as trying to focus more on the part of the strike zone where you’re good at hitting is all you need to do. Sometimes the batted balls you’re looking for were always there, just covered by the noise of the batted balls you didn’t want.

 

The actual article is much longer and has great info. Everyone, go read it.

 

Can you forward this to Chavis? I think Devers has found similar keys that helped Bogaerts, and he is now a force.

[mvp 78]

Can you forward this to Chavis? I think Devers has found similar keys that helped Bogaerts, and he is now a force.

 

Chavis' problem is he has a big hole at the top of the strike zone where pitchers are going after him right now. He can't make any contact on a count with 2 strikes. Xander can at least cover the plate with his swing and protect with 2 strikes.

[mvp 78]

@SoxNotes

 

Xander Bogaerts ranks 5th in All-Star Game voting among AL shortstops, but he ranks 1st or 2nd among AL players at the position in several stat categories:

 

19 doubles – 1st

50 runs – 1st

12 HR – 2nd

31 XBH – 2nd

42 RBI – 2nd

34 BB – 2nd

.371 OBP – 2nd

[moonslav59]

@SoxNotes

 

Xander Bogaerts ranks 5th in All-Star Game voting among AL shortstops, but he ranks 1st or 2nd among AL players at the position in several stat categories:

 

19 doubles – 1st

50 runs – 1st

12 HR – 2nd

31 XBH – 2nd

42 RBI – 2nd

34 BB – 2nd

.371 OBP – 2nd

 

He can use the rest during the AS break.

[Slasher9]

He can use the rest during the AS break.

 

not neccessary. WTF Cora gives players plenty of rest during real games.

[notin]

not neccessary. WTF Cora gives players plenty of rest during real games.

 

 

Yeah but do we really care if Bogaerts misses the all star game?

[Slasher9]

Yeah but do we really care if Bogaerts misses the all star game?

 

nope. we do not.

[notin]

nope. we do not.

 

 

Let Jorge Polanco have his day. He’s having a great year himself...