Devers signs 11 year $331 million extension

[notin]

Xander was apparently willing to do a deal similar to Story's last offseason. If that's true, they were dumb to not sign him then.

 

There’s always the possibility that the Sox were only going to try to extend only one of them…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

The narrative went way beyond that, and calls for JH to go were starting.

 

The fact is, he has always cycled spending and resets. True, they seem to be way more open to extending players they traded for (AGon, Sale, Porcello & Nate) than their own players (Pedey & Bogey,) but there was a building narrative that JH had gone cheap and that the talk of trying to stay competitive through the rebuild was all a lie.

 

The narrative up until yesterday was that the Red Sox would not pay their homegrown fan favorites fair market prices to stay in Boston...

 

... because the only guy extended since Bogey was re-upped after the 2018 title was Matt Barnes.

 

Things are different now. Times have changed for the better today.

[mvp 78]

The narrative went way beyond that, and calls for JH to go were starting.

 

The fact is, he has always cycled spending and resets. True, they seem to be way more open to extending players they traded for (AGon, Sale, Porcello & Nate) than their own players (Pedey & Bogey,) but there was a building narrative that JH had gone cheap and that the talk of trying to stay competitive through the rebuild was all a lie.

 

The fact is that he needed to show Sox fans the money. Betts gone for little return. Bogey gone for barely any return. JD gone for nothing. Eovaldi gone for the same return as Xander somehow. Vaz gone for prospects. The house was being sold off in a yard sale and the fans arguably needed to be shown that they were going to spend on a fan favorite long term. They finally did. That was the narrative. This is just a start though. There is much more work to be done.

[mvp 78]

No doubt. I'd have done that. My highest suggested offer was not far from anyone else's. Hell, even Red suggested $168M/6. If Bogey would have taken that is anybody's guess. If the answer is no, then a lot of the talk, here is moot. If it's yes, then time will tell on the "mistake" aspect of that choice. (Now, I'd guess XB will easily earne $170M/6, but $280M/11...?)

 

$160M/6 or even $170M/6 looks like a bargain, now, but I'm not sure the Sox would sign him to that, even now, given the massive Devers contract and Story still on the books.

 

It's not "time will tell if 6/168 is a mistake." It's a definite mistake just looking around baseball today. The market spiked this offseason. That contract would be an extremely good value for the Sox going forward even if you have to move Xander off position. It would have been worth it for his leadership and for fan loyalty.

[mvp 78]

There’s always the possibility that the Sox were only going to try to extend only one of them…

 

That is true, but IMO they had 3 franchise guys (Betts, Bogey and Devers) and needed to lock 2 of them up. Only locking one of them up isn't ideal. Letting two of them go for an underwhelming corner OFer, a backup C, a DFA'd prospect and a QO pick is not great!

[moonslav59]

The narrative up until yesterday was that the Red Sox would not pay their homegrown fan favorites fair market prices to stay in Boston...

 

... because the only guy extended since Bogey was re-upped after the 2018 title was Matt Barnes.

 

Things are different now. Times have changed for the better today.

 

That was a narrative, but there were more narratives than just homegrowns.

 

Had we signed Correa, instead of Devers, there would be little talk of "homegrown."

 

There was a building narrative about JH going cheap or at least not willing to sign the best of the best and pay top market value for anyone- not just homegrown. A few were even saying JH's time was up.

 

BTW, while the Sale, Nate and Bogey extensions were signed before DD left, all these contracts started after 2018: 2019 (Nate) & 2020 (Sale & XB.) Also, Vaz's contract started in 2019 with a 2022 option.

 

The actually drop off in large and long contracts was just 2021 up to March 2022, when we signed Story. It was a false narrative all along, and if you look at JH's history of resetting and sometimes staying under the tax line for 2 and even 3 years, once, this was not out of the ordinary.

 

It was the lack of no new signings since those DD extensions that raised a flag, but they were deceiving due to their kick-in dates.

[mvp 78]

The narrative up until yesterday was that the Red Sox would not pay their homegrown fan favorites fair market prices to stay in Boston...

 

... because the only guy extended since Bogey was re-upped after the 2018 title was Matt Barnes.

 

Things are different now. Times have changed for the better today.

 

Pedroia: extended

Youk: retired elsewhere

Ellsbury: FA

Lester: FA

Paplebon: FA

JBJ: FA

Betts: FA

Bogey: FA

Vaz: Trade

ERod: FA

Barnes: Extended

Raffy: Extended

Beni: Traded

Whitlock: Extended

Casas: ?

Bello: ?

Houck: ?

Mayer: ?

Rafaela: ?

Bleis: ?

[moonslav59]

It's not "time will tell if 6/168 is a mistake." It's a definite mistake just looking around baseball today. The market spiked this offseason. That contract would be an extremely good value for the Sox going forward even if you have to move Xander off position. It would have been worth it for his leadership and for fan loyalty.

 

It does look like not only a mistake, but a big one, but I still think time will tell.

 

Some felt not locking Jake up for less than what the Yanks ended up paying him was a big mistake.

 

Like I said, I'd have signed him to $180M/7 and would not have been upset had we gone a bit higher. If $170M/6 was acceptable to Bogey, I do view it as a mistake not to have gotten it done, but we won't know for sure until the time is up.

[moonslav59]

Pedroia: extended

Youk: retired elsewhere

Ellsbury: FA

Lester: FA

Paplebon: FA

JBJ: FA

Betts: FA

Bogey: FA

Vaz: Trade

ERod: FA

Barnes: Extended

Raffy: Extended

Beni: Traded

Whitlock: Extended

Casas: ?

Bello: ?

Houck: ?

Mayer: ?

Rafaela: ?

Bleis: ?

 

I guess it should not be surprising that big named players we trade for or acquired elsewhere are valued more highly:

 

Papi: extended numerous times

Beckett: extended

Lowell: extended

AGon: extended

Sale: extended

Porcello: extended

[mvp 78]

I guess it should not be surprising that big named players we trade for or acquired elsewhere are valued more highly:

 

Papi: extended numerous times

Beckett: extended

Lowell: extended

AGon: extended

Sale: extended

Porcello: extended

 

Mike Lowell and Rick Porcello played a total of 5 years in BOS. Give me a break about those "extensions." Papi never got a true "long term extension." The Sale extension was a horrible decision for an already injured player that everyone regrets and prevented the Betts extension.

[moonslav59]

Mike Lowell and Rick Porcello played a total of 5 years in BOS. Give me a break about those "extensions." Papi never got a true "long term extension." The Sale extension was a horrible decision for an already injured player that everyone regrets and prevented the Betts extension.

 

Oh, I didn't know we weren't counting 3 or 4 year extensions. "Give me a break?" is rather harsh.

 

The Lowell and Beckett extensions were as long as Bogey's turned out to be. Papi and Porcello got 4 years- Papi's with a 5th year club option.

 

The fact is, we seem to extend added players more often than our own big stars, even if not for as long as you think should count.

 

[notin]

Mike Lowell and Rick Porcello played a total of 5 years in BOS. Give me a break about those "extensions." Papi never got a true "long term extension." The Sale extension was a horrible decision for an already injured player that everyone regrets and prevented the Betts extension.

 

As a frontline critic of the Sale extension, it did appear to me that Dombrowski pivoted towards Sale and Bogaerts only after talks with Betts already broke down.

 

So it might have prevented any subsequent talks, but it’s also possible the Betts ship had already sailed…

[Bellhorn04]

That is true, but IMO they had 3 franchise guys (Betts, Bogey and Devers) and needed to lock 2 of them up. Only locking one of them up isn't ideal. Letting two of them go for an underwhelming corner OFer, a backup C, a DFA'd prospect and a QO pick is not great!

 

Bloom did OK on the Betts trade, IMHO. BTV confirms it.

[Bellhorn04]

As a frontline critic of the Sale extension, it did appear to me that Dombrowski pivoted towards Sale and Bogaerts only after talks with Betts already broke down.

 

I think it was actually a logical plan, more or less...

[notin]

That is true, but IMO they had 3 franchise guys (Betts, Bogey and Devers) and needed to lock 2 of them up. Only locking one of them up isn't ideal. Letting two of them go for an underwhelming corner OFer, a backup C, a DFA'd prospect and a QO pick is not great!

 

Given that Price and Sale would have both been around until this year, I think locking up two of them was always unlikely…

[Bellhorn04]

Mike Lowell and Rick Porcello played a total of 5 years in BOS.

 

Your math is surprisingly off on this.

[notin]

I think it was actually a logical plan, more or less...

 

Except for the Sale part.

 

They already had him for 2019. Why not take some time and see if he’s healthy?

[mvp 78]

Bloom did OK on the Betts trade, IMHO. BTV confirms it.

 

BTV has Devers and Duran as the same trade value right now.

[moonslav59]

Your math is surprisingly off on this.

 

I don't think they traded for Lowell, thinking they'd end up extending him. He was force fed to the Sox, like we did with Price to LA, but he did well, and we extended him for 3 years.

 

When we traded for Porcello, they obviously liked him, and a 4 year extension confirmed that.

 

My point was, it should not be surprising that players we acquire from other teams are guys we value highly and are likely extension material.

 

[moonslav59]

BTV has Devers and Duran as the same trade value right now.

 

Being any kind of plus as a value after a recent signing is actually a good thing on BTV.

[mvp 78]

Your math is surprisingly off on this.

 

Did I say they played a combined 5 years?

 

Porcello 5 years.

 

Lowell 5 years.

[mvp 78]

Given that Price and Sale would have both been around until this year, I think locking up two of them was always unlikely…

 

There was no reason to extend an injured Chris Sale.

[Bellhorn04]

Did I say they played a combined 5 years?

 

Porcello 5 years.

 

Lowell 5 years.

 

You said "a total". Usually that means "combined".

[Bellhorn04]

There was no reason to extend an injured Chris Sale.

 

But the doctors cleared it, and Sale pitched in 2019.

[mvp 78]

You said "a total". Usually that means "combined".

 

My problem was the sentence structure then, not the math. All my posts can't be bangers.

[Bellhorn04]

Except for the Sale part.

 

They already had him for 2019. Why not take some time and see if he’s healthy?

 

You know the drill on this. Some players won't negotiate once the season starts. What if you wait and the guy has a monster season and the price increases by a hefty amount - we've all seen that happen.

[Bellhorn04]

My problem was the sentence structure then, not the math. All my posts can't be bangers.

 

True.

[moonslav59]

Did I say they played a combined 5 years?

 

Porcello 5 years.

 

Lowell 5 years.

 

Jake essentially played 5 seasons in BOS. Betts 5 1/3. Devers 5 1/3 before his extension.

 

BTW, I wasn't defending their choices, including the Sale extension- just pointing out that they seem to feel it worth extending acquired players more than their own.

[moonslav59]

My problem was the sentence structure then, not the math. All my posts can't be bangers.

 

So much for "All my posts are perfect."

[moonslav59]

There was no reason to extend an injured Chris Sale.

 

A great point. They rolled the dice. Has Sale stayed sale for just 4 of the 5 years on the deal, it was a bargain for the team.

 

Had we waited sand he pitched great in 2019, he'd have cost us a Price like deal, or more.