Xander Bogaerts’ Price Tag Keeps Going Up

Nearly a month into the MLB offseason, the bidding war for Xander Bogaerts is well underway.

The free agent shortstop has already been linked to multiple teams, indicating that there's a strong market for his services. The growing interest in Bogaerts figures to drive up his price tag as teams start making offers to him.

Xander Bogaerts Free Agency Rumors

This is terrible news for the Boston Red Sox, who will need to shell out much more than they originally hoped if they want to keep him. Boston originally offered to add one year and $30 million to his existing contract back in April, which would have upped the total value remaining on his deal to four years and $90 million.

The Red Sox have since increased their offer, but not enough to Bogaerts' liking. It now seems possible that he could potentially double Boston's initial proposal.

The Red Sox have only themselves to blame for their current predicament. Not only did they fail to get an extension done before the season started, but they made things worse by opening with an insultingly low offer. The two sides were clearly far apart and weren't able to make much progress once the season started.

Boston had a final chance to keep Bogaerts from opting out during an exclusive month-long negotiating window between the end of the regular season and the end of the World Series, but failed to get a deal done at the 11th hour.

Now the Red Sox are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They either pay Bogaerts what the market says he's worth, or they lose yet another homegrown superstar. The choice is theirs.