The Pink Sox agreed to a one-year, $17.5M contract with third baseman Rafael Devers, experiences ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). That’ll keep away from an arbitration listening to for Devers’ ultimate season of eligibility however doesn’t prolong 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 high that mark by $600K.
Devers, 26, has cemented himself as one of many American League’s high hitters over the previous a number of years, hitting at a mixed .292/.352/.532 clip courting again to 2019. Alongside the way in which, he’s been named to a pair of All-Star groups and received 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 development of contracts reaching and even exceeding 10 years in size has solely additional prompted Devers to ponder what he would possibly have the ability to earn in an open-market setting.
That stated, there’s nonetheless ample time for the Pink Sox to shut the hole in negotiations. The truth that the 2 events have been capable of amicably agree on a one-year compromise with no need to resort to a extra contentious arbitration listening to bodes effectively 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 Pink Sox and the dwindling clock, it’d actually behoove the entrance workplace to take each second out there as a way 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 finally retain Bogaerts up till the ultimate day that he agreed to phrases with the Padres on an 11-year, $280M contract. Actually, one would think about Sox bras hopes to keep away from the same sequence with Devers, who’s 4 years youthful than Bogaerts and thus can be positioned all of the extra favorably in free company.
Nevertheless extension talks play out, there’s profit to the Pink Sox in securing this value certainty on Devers ahead of later. With Devers’ wage locked in, the Sox at the moment are 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 figuring out 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 luxurious tax — in the event that they exist in any respect — must be thought-about. Boston can be a second-time luxurious offender upon exceeding the tax threshold in 2023.
