Xander Bogaerts has shown the Red Sox this season why his six-year, $120 million contract extension was worth every penny.
The 26-year-old arguably has been Boston's MVP up to this point, hitting .315 with a .975 OPS and leading the team in home runs (23). The Red Sox are thankful they've locked down their franchise shortstop, especially because re-signing him to a long-term deal was anything but a guarantee.
Before Friday's matchup vs. the Yankees, manager Alex Cora explained why he wasn't confident Bogaerts would be in a Red Sox uniform after the 2019 season.
"I know who represents him, so I know how it works," Cora said. "I had my doubts at one point."
Bogaerts is represented by Scott Boras, whose clients typically go with the highest bidder in free agency. Cora knows first hand how negotiations go as Boras client, as he happened to be one himself during his playing days.
But in the end, the Red Sox were able to get a deal done, and Cora couldn't be happier about it.
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"He loves it here," Cora said of Bogaerts. "If you start talking about what he means to the organization and if this keeps going and what he's going to mean to the history of the organization -- it's been a revolving door since '04 as far as the shortstop position and now, boom, we've got our guy."
Between Bogaerts and 22-year-old slugger Rafael Devers, who's had a huge season of his own, Boston has a bright future over on the left side of their infield.
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