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The Boston Red Sox knew they had no choice, and after losing several of their marquee stars in recent years, they decided to lock up third baseman Rafael Devers on Wednesday.
Devers and the Red Sox are finalizing an 11-year, $331 million contract extension, two senior officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations told USA TODAY Sports.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Devers has not completed a physical and the deal has not yet been made public.
Devers, 26, became the highest-paid player in franchise history, and remains with the Red Sox just one month after All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts was lost in free agency and three years after former MVP Mookie Betts was traded.
Devers will now be the face of the franchise.
The Red Sox have been negotiating with Devers for at least a year, offering him about $170 million before last season and increasing it to $250 million this season. However, Bogarts’ value increased this summer as Trey Turner signed with the Philadelphia Phillies for $300 million and Carlos Correa agreed to an estimated $315 million deal with the New York Mets, while Bogarts received $280 million over 11 years from the San Diego Padres.
The Red Sox signed Devers to a one-year, $17.5 million contract to avoid arbitration on Tuesday but wanted to reach a long-term deal before spring training. The Red Sox’s ownership group and front office were surrounded by boos after Bogaerts’ departure, with fans booing co-owner John Henry on Monday during the NHL Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins at Fenway Park. In addition to booing Henry, one fan brought a “Pay Devers” sign into the stadium. He was taken at the door.
The fans responded with declining ticket sales at the time and a 35% drop in TV ratings on their network, NESN.
Now that they’ve made the biggest financial commitment in history, Devers is the only star left over from their 2017 team making his major league debut.
“He’s a guy we want to build around,” Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom said late last season.
Certainly, Devers is one of the game’s best young stars. He hit 65 home runs over the past two seasons and hit .295 with 27 homers and 88 RBI last year, including a .358 on-base percentage and .521 slugging percentage. In his career, he averaged 33 homers, 107 RBI and 324 total bases in 162 games.
Devers has the sixth-most homers (139) and fifth-most extra-base hits (333) of any third baseman before turning 26.
“We’ve got to keep those guys,” Hall of Famer David Ortiz told USA TODAY Sports last month. “They’re franchise players. When you have good players, you know their skills, you know what they bring to the table, what more do you want?’
Well, when one goes to San Diego, their little star is right there.
The Red Sox sent a message to the baseball world.
They are a large market group. They are acting like that now.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rafael Devers, Red Sox finalize $331 million contract extension
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