The Boston Red Sox have agreed to a one-year, $17.5 million deal with All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers with an eye towards an even larger deal between the two sides next offseason.
The agreement helps the Red Sox avoid arbitration with Devers, who is the one of the team's few remaining stars from its 2018 World Series title. Since then, Boston has traded former MVP Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019 and promising outfielder Andrew Benintendi to the Kansas City Royals before allowing shortstop Xander Bogaerts and designated hitter JD Martinez walk in free agency after the 2022 season.
The deal is for $17.5 million, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team did not disclose the terms of the contract.
As for that long-term deal, the two sides are not any closer, and now have less than a calendar year to reach an agreement before Devers becomes one of the most coveted free agents in baseball.
'According to multiple league sources, the Red Sox and Devers are 'galaxies apart' in their contract negotiations,' ESPN's Joon Lee wrote last month. 'The current expectation from Devers and his camp is that the third baseman will be a free agent at the end of 2023, given the current state of contract talks.'
The 26-year-old third baseman, who made $11.2 million last season, will be on Boston's roster for at least one season in his final year of arbitration eligibility before he can hit the open free-agent market.
The Red Sox's biggest splash this offseason has been signing Japanese star Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million deal.
There are six remaining unsigned Red Sox players eligible for arbitration: Christian Arroyo, Ryan Brasier, Reese McGuire, Nick Pivetta, Josh Taylor, and Alex Verdugo.
Devers was the American League's starting third baseman in the 2021 and 2022 All-Star games. In 141 games last season, he batted .295 with 42 doubles, 27 home runs, and 88 RBI.
The Red Sox are trying to bounce back from a difficult 2022 season in which they plummeted to a 78-84 and last-place finish in the AL East a year after winning 92 games, earning a wild-card postseason berth and making it to the ALCS.
