The Crimson Sox agreed to a one-year, $17.5M contract with third baseman Rafael Devers, stories ESPN’s Jeff Passan (by way of Twitter). That’ll keep away from an arbitration listening to for Devers’ closing season of eligibility however doesn’t lengthen the crew’s management over the All-Star slugger. He’ll be a free agent subsequent offseason. Devers was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $16.9M this coming season however will prime that mark by $600K.
Devers, 26, has cemented himself as one of many American League’s prime hitters over the previous a number of years, hitting at a mixed .292/.352/.532 clip relationship again to 2019. Alongside the way in which, he’s been named to a pair of All-Star groups and gained a Silver Slugger Award.
A protracted-term extension with Devers has been a precedence for Boston’s entrance workplace for a while, however a large hole between the 2 events has remained — and that was earlier than Devers watched a number of mid-20s free brokers ink contracts of 11 or extra years in size this offseason. One would think about that the revitalized pattern of contracts reaching and even exceeding 10 years in size has solely additional prompted Devers to ponder what he would possibly be capable to earn in an open-market setting.
That mentioned, there’s nonetheless ample time for the Crimson Sox to shut the hole in negotiations. The truth that the 2 events have been in a position to amicably agree on a one-year compromise while not having to resort to a extra contentious arbitration listening to bodes nicely for the standing of talks, to an extent. It additionally frees the 2 events to focus negotiations solely on Devers’ would-be free agent seasons.
Lengthy-term offers of that nature are sometimes left to be mentioned in spring coaching, however given Devers’ significance to the Crimson Sox and the dwindling clock, it’d actually behoove the entrance workplace to take each second obtainable to be able to attempt to work one thing out. Boston ostensibly waited till final spring to debate a long-term pact with Xander Bogaerts however solely made an unrealistic one-year extension supply. The Sox broadcast confidence of their capability to in the end retain Bogaerts up till the ultimate day that he agreed to phrases with the Padres on an 11-year, $280M contract. Definitely, one would think about Sox bras hopes to keep away from an identical sequence with Devers, who’s 4 years youthful than Bogaerts and thus could be positioned all of the extra favorably in free company.
Nonetheless extension talks play out, there’s profit to the Crimson Sox in securing this value certainty on Devers before later. With Devers’ wage locked in, the Sox are actually projected for an Opening Day payroll simply shy of $187M, per Roster Useful resource. Their projected $212.6M luxury-tax ledger sits greater than $20M shy of the $233M first tier of penalization. Boston fairly arguably nonetheless has wants behind the plate, within the rotation and on the bench, and understanding the precise worth level on Devers helps chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and his employees acquire a greater image of simply what number of sources can be found earlier than any issues pertaining to the posh tax — in the event that they exist in any respect — have to be thought of. Boston could be a second-time luxurious offender upon exceeding the tax threshold in 2023.
