In the Boston Red Sox's clubhouse at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Florida, the gravitational pull emanates from the corner locker. While most players get one locker to store their equipment, this one is super-sized, with an extra cabinet and a bench. The space, next to the door nearest the field, is reserved for Red Sox royalty to hold court. When the ballpark opened in 2012, the locker belonged to David Ortiz. He passed it on to Dustin Pedroia in 2016, who handed it over to Xander Bogaerts heading into the 2020 season.
After Bogaerts signed an 11-year, $280 million deal with the San Diego Padres this offseason, there was a clear heir apparent: third baseman Rafael Devers, the new face of the franchise, who signed a 10-year, $313.