To conclude our look at the four major free agent shortstops on the market this winter, let’s take a look at Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
Bogaerts is under contract in Boston for the next three years at $20 million per year, but is widely expected to opt out of that deal, as is his right under his contract, and become a free agent. So you’d think he’s figuring he can get more than that on an AAV basis, either that or more than the $60 million total he’s owed over the next three seasons. (There’s a fourth-year vesting option in that deal that vests at $20 million if Bogaerts has at least 535 PAs in 2025 and finishes the year healthy.