While the Boston Red Sox have traded away a couple of big-name players this offseason to save money, star shortstop Xander Bogaerts will be in Boston for years thanks to a relatively team-friendly extension. Here are two props available to wager at Mybookie on Bogaerts’ and the Red Sox’s 2020 MLB season – assuming there is one – and an overview.
Xander Bogaerts MLB Awards Odds & Analysis For 2020 Season
- AL MVP Award: Bogaerts is +4000
- Odds to win AL East: Red Sox are +1200 third-favorites
Here’s something one could say for sure about Bogaerts: He’s the best MLB player ever from Aruba. Mike Lord, a scout for the Boston Red Sox, discovered Bogaerts at the age of 16, in 2009. The Red Sox signed him to a contract with a $410,000 signing bonus.
Bogaerts made his MLB debut on August 20, 2013, against the San Francisco Giants. He got his first major league hit August 25 against the Los Angeles Dodgers and on September 7 Bogaerts hit his first MLB home run against New York Yankees pitcher Jim Miller. Bogaerts also had a good postseason in leading Boston to a title, batting .296 with two RBIs in 12 postseason games. Bogaerts also became the youngest player to hit a triple in World Series history.
Bogaerts began the 2014 season as the starting shortstop for Boston and has stayed there since for the most part. Bogaerts rose to a new level in 2018 in leading the Red Sox to another title. He finished 13th in American League MVP voting and posted a .288/.360/.522 line in 136 games.
Before last season, the Red Sox signed him to a six-year, $120 million extension. He will make $20 million in each season from 2020 to 2025 and is under control through his age-32 season. The deal includes an opt-out clause in its third year (after the 2022 season) and a $20 million vesting option for 2026 (that vests if Bogaerts logs 535 plate appearances in 2025).
In 2019, Bogaerts hit .309 with 33 homers and 117 RBIs and finished fifth in the AL MVP voting. He won his third Silver Slugger Award and was named to his second All-Star team.
Bogaerts’ 85 extra-base hits were tied with Nomar Garciaparra (1997 & 2002) for the most ever by a Red Sox shortstop. His 52 doubles were the 2nd-most by a Sox SS (Garciaparra had 56 in 2002). Bogaerts joined Alex Rodriguez as the only shortstops ever with 30+ HR and 50+ doubles in a season (Rodriguez had 36 HR and 54 2B in 1996).
Xander Bogaerts (33 HR, 116 RBI) and Rafael Devers (32 HR, 115 RBI) were only the second SS/3B combo ever to record 30+ HR and 110+ RBI each in a season. Bogaerts (33 HR, 52 2B) and Devers (32 HR, 53 2B) were the first teammates in MLB history to each record 30+ HR and 50+ doubles in the same season.
Bogaerts became the 4th Red Sox to record 500+ RBI before turning 27 years old, joining Bobby Doerr (621), Jim Rice (583), and Ted Williams (514). He registered his 1,000th MLB career hit in a game September 7 against the New York Yankees. Through his age 26 season, he already has 1022 hits and a bWAR of 21.5.
If there’s one thing Bogaerts needs to work on, it’s his defense. He had a -21 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rating in 2019, the lowest in the major leagues among shortstops.
This spring, he off to a late start because of ankle soreness and was hitting just .077 in the Grapefruit League before the MLB shutdown. Without Mookie Betts in the lineup, the presence of Bogaerts becomes even more important.
“Knowing that we traded away Mookie, that might put some pressure on us to go out and do more,” Bogaerts said. “I think we should be a little careful with that. We just don’t want to put pressure on ourselves and get in a big hole just because we want to fill someone’s shoes like Mookie’s.”
