November 27, 2022

Signing Shortstops

Both the Twins and Padres appear to have entered the competition to sign shortstop Xander Bogaerts. For the Twins, this is a backup plan if they fail to sign Carlos Correa. Both are Scott Boras clients:

“If [the Twins] are going to play this game, they’ve got to play it under Scott Boras’ terms,” Neal said. “And Boras plays this thing out until February or March. And can the Twins afford to wait that long with other things they want to achieve during the offseason to see if they can get one or the other? And yes, they are going after Correa. And I was told that Bogaerts will be the backup plan if they can’t get Correa. They’re offering [Correa] different deals to see what he would like. It’s like 10 years at a certain AAV (average annual value). I think eight years at another certain AAV. And then a six-year deal, which of course would have the highest AAV, which would be over $30 million a year.”

Boston.com

I like that the Twins are spending money at shortstop, trying to build a strong team up the middle. With shortstop secure, it’s easier to find talent at the corners at less expense to completement the stars in the middle of the field.

I also like the acknowledgement here that the best deals come at the last minute. Once the other shortstops sign, the remaining ones become a bit more valuable.

The Padres look like they are doing something similar:

San Diego’s potential interest in Bogaerts is a bit surprising considering the production Ha-Seong Kim gave the Padres this past season and they still have Fernando Tatis Jr. But Heyman mentioned that they could have Kim be a utility player and move Tatis to the outfield.

Bogaerts at short and Tatis in center make the Padres much stronger up the middle. Kim is probably too good to be a utility player; San Diego should be able to get a good deal on a 27-year-old shortstop with lots of years of team control available. Both teams are looking at the right spot to improve.

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