"We could have offered 12 years" - Boston Red Sox owner John Henry rues missed opportunity to keep Xander Bogaerts in Boston with long-term contract
The Boston Red Sox found themselves at the bottom of their division, the AL East, for the third time since 2015 last season. After the season concluded, their star shortstop Xander Bogaerts waved goodbye after a 10-year career in Boston.
Bogaerts instead chose to sign a 11-year deal worth $280 million with the San Diego Padres. With an average of .307, Bogaerts was the best hitter on the Red Sox last season, and their offensive abilities will almost certainly struggle without him.
John Henry is the owner of the Boston Red Sox. The investor and businessman has owned the team since 2002, but rarely makes appearances, especially for the press.
However, Jenn McAffrey of The Athletic magazine was able to email some questions regarding the past offseason and the imminent commencing of the postseason.
Red Sox Owner John Henry on the Athletic: “We could have offered (Bogaerts) 12 years!”
'Red Sox Owner John Henry on the Athletic: “We could have offered (Bogaerts) 12 years!”' - @ Boston Strong
When asked about the Boston Red Sox' negotiations with Bogaerts, Henry's reply was simple. The 73-year old, who also owns Liverpool FC in the English Premier League, simply stated that the team could have signed him to a 12-year deal.
Henry's claim, however, goes against the facts. Under Bogaerts' previous contract with the Red Sox, he was to have a $60 million club option from 2023 to 2025. Those were the remaining three years of the six-year, $120 million deal he signed with Boston in 2019.
However, when the 2022 season ended, the Red Sox offered Bogaerts a re-hash of the 2019 deal. At the time, The Boston Globe reported that $120 million for six years was just never going to be enough for Bogaerts.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today also wrote at the time that the Red Sox failed to "entice" Bogaerts in the least.
TWO RUN DING DONG FOR THE KING OF ARUBA AND THE CAPTAIN OF THE BOSTON RED SOX XANDER BOGAERTS
https://t.co/BsjEwe273F
"TWO RUN DING DONG FOR THE KING OF ARUBA AND THE CAPTAIN OF THE BOSTON RED SOX XANDER BOGAERTS" - @ Jared Carrabis
Although there were a number of teams interested in Xander Bogaerts, including the Philadelphia Phillies, he eventually chose to settle with the San Diego Padres.
Bogaerts has long been considered one of the best hitters in the league. Of his 10 seasons in the MLB, he has hit at least .300 in nine of them. In 2022, he hit .307/.377/.456 with 15 home runs and 73 RBIs.
Flippant comment from Boston Red Sox owner fails to reveal the whole truth
The cold, hard fact is that the Boston Red Sox did not want to sign Xander Bogaerts to a 12-year deal, as John Henry has suggested.
Moreover, Bogaerts knows that the Red Sox are not going to be winning anything anytime soon. This likely further encouraged him to sign with an exciting, young team like the San Diego Padres.