When it was becoming apparent that the Boston Bruins and Xander Bogaerts were not going to come to an agreement on a new deal, many teams expressed interest in the star shortstop, including the Toronto Blue Jays, according to agent Scott Boras.
Speaking to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Boras indicated that once Boston made the decision to prioritize a deal for Rafael Devers, they were going to have to find a new home for Bogaerts. The 30-year-old would eventually sign an 11-year, $280 million contract with the San Diego Padres.
“It was just really clear to us there was a separation where Boston was going to go for Bogaerts,” Boras said, “compared to where the market was. They probably made a decision they were going to sign [Rafael] Devers, and were going to pay only one of them. So we knew at the forefront that Bogey would be somewhere besides Boston.
“Minnesota, the Cubs, the Blue Jays, they were really after him. But we kind of knew the Padres’ guy was Bogaerts (after Trea Turner rejected their offer). They wanted that personality, that leadership in that locker room.”
Bogaerts slashed .307/.377/.456 while recording 15 home runs and 73 RBIs in 150 games this season.
Toronto has been looking to make improvements to their infield the last few seasons acquiring gold-glove third baseman Matt Chapman from the Oakland Athletics last season.
Instead of making a serious push for Bogaerts, the Blue Jays focused on upgrading the starting rotation by signing Chris Bassitt to a three-year, $63 million deal. They also revamped the outfield, trading for Dalton Varsho and bringing in Kevin Kiermaier.
