According to Jon Heyman, the Red Sox are still keen on bringing Xander Bogaerts back to Fenway Park

Unsurprisingly, the four-time All-Star did well throughout the 2022 season. Now that Xander Bogaerts is a free agent, his market has been, to put it mildly, robust.

While many other teams are also interested, Boston has consistently stated that Bogaerts is the team's first goal this offseason. The Phillies were considered Boston's main rival, but they withdrew from the shortstop market by signing a massive contract with Trea Turner.

The Red Sox still have to worry about the shortstop being lured via some lucrative offers to join the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Padres, the Cubs, the Diamondbacks, and many others.

The Red Sox's interest in Xander Bogaerts and their standing in the competition to sign him have been the subject of conflicting reports. While some rumors have been encouraging and suggested he would make Fenway Park his home in 2023, others have been considerably more concerning.

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"When the Red Sox re-sign Xander Bogaerts the deal should also come with the C on his chest" - JordanMoore

Red Sox is serious about Xander Bogaerts

After denying him a legitimate contract for an entire year, the Red Sox have taken their relationship with Bogaerts seriously. Bogaerts has repeatedly claimed that he wants to stay with the Red Sox, and he has undoubtedly appeared honest when doing so.

Likely, ownership has now decided to open the vault to keep Bogaerts in Boston due to the possibility of fan reaction for allowing a homegrown talent to go via free agency.

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"Red Sox are in heavy discussions with star shortstop Xander Bogaerts" - JonHeyman

Retaining Bogaerts this offseason is "option A" for the Red Sox, according to Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom. Since signing as a teenager and spending his entire MLB career in Boston, Bogaerts has been a part of the club for well over ten years.

At the Winter Meetings on Monday night, Boston allegedly spoke with Bogaerts' agent Scott Boras, but no movement was made on the transaction. Boston will be ready with a full head of steam as the Winter Meeting moves forward to try to entice Bogaerts back to Fenway Park.

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"Xander Bogaerts's career resume" - PSO_Sports

It's pretty evident that since the Red Sox realized how the market was changing course during the Winter Meetings, they wanted to expedite the process of bringing Boagerts back to Boston, and they may very well be preparing a lumpsum deal to get their ace SS back to his major career home.

About the author

Karan has been a baseball sports betting expert, analyst and content strategist at Sportskeeda since 2022. He holds a Master's degree in Sports Management from Virginia Commonwealth University, and worked with the VCU Rams baseball team as a trackman analyst. He started following the sport at 18, watching postseason on television.

Karan is a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers owing to their successful history in the sport, and their consistent performances at the highest level. He admires Mookie Betts’ on-field defensive and offensive prowess, along with his off-field charitable exploits, while Bruce Bochy is his favorite coach.

The Mets’ miraculous rally from a two-run deficit in the 1986 World Series Game 6 in the bottom of the 10th inning despite being two outs and two strikes down is his all-time favorite baseball moment.

Karan’s strengths are player profiling and technical deep dives, for which he always refers to reliable sources such as the social media handles of the best MLB analysts.

When not strategizing, he likes to read, listen to music, go for a run, and watch sit-coms.

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Edited by Piyush Bisht