Boston shortstop Xander Bogaerts, right, and third baseman Rafael Devers were named starters for the All-Star Game later this month. Mary Schwalm/Associated Press
There’s not a chance in the world the Red Sox would’ve traded Mookie Betts if they didn’t have a pair of young stars they could build around.
This week, the franchise should be celebrating as the two cornerstone players of the present and future, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, were named to the American League All-Star Team.
They’ll start at shortstop and third base, respectively.
“We’re really tight,” Bogaerts said.
Said Devers, “Everyone knows how close I am with Xander. He’s one of my closest friends.”
Bogaerts, 28, is the older and more experienced of the two, but said he remembers hearing about Devers, now 24, back when Bogaerts was a 20-year-old prospect who had just won a World Series and Devers was just a teenager.
“I was in the Dominican and I think I played my first or second year in the big leagues, and Victor Martinez was our hitting coach at that time,” Bogaerts said. “His son was in the Dominican and I remember his son walked up to me in the academy and he said, ‘hey, remember this name: Rafael Devers.’ I’m like, ‘who is this guy talking about?'”
Rafael Devers, left, and Xander Bogaerts have become the core for the Boston Red Sox after Mookie Betts was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
Bogaerts soon found out as the Red Sox signed the 16-year-old Devers for a $1.5 million signing bonus, almost four times the $410,000 bonus Bogaerts signed for four years earlier.
“Coming up through the minors, you hear a lot of talk about who he was,'” Bogaerts said. “Same thing with Mookie Betts. Seeing him grow up in front of your eyes, it’s amazing. He’s been through a lot.”
When Devers first entered the big leagues, he said he wanted to be a superstar. But through his first two seasons, he was hitting just .254 with a .760 OPS and had made an astounding 38 errors in 172 games at third base.
He’s still making errors at about the same rate, but at the plate, he’s hit .295 with an .898 OPS in his three years since.
“I know I said that earlier, but obviously I still have a lot to go (before I’m a superstar),” Devers said. “I don’t want this to be my first and only time to be selected (to the All-Star Game). I feel as though I’m doing what needs to be done to put myself in the right position to hopefully get multiple selections.”
Taking care of his body has been the primary reason Devers has turned things around.
“Not to say nothing bad about him, but he had some weight issues in the past,” Bogaerts said. “This year especially, every time I look at him, I’m like, ‘man, you look really good.’ Just giving him that recognition that physically, he does look really good. He might be looking better than me. …
“This year he cleaned up all of that. He came in motivated after last year. I think we push each other. There’s no hate, no jealousy. We do push each other a lot because we both see there’s much more we can accomplish individually.”
Bogaerts then paid Devers the ultimate compliment.
“You don’t want to take your eyes off him or go to the bathroom when he’s hitting,” he said.
In the shortstop’s mind, the third baseman is the best player on the Red Sox. The WAR numbers would agree with him, as Devers ranks first on the team with 3.4 WAR and Bogaerts ranks third with 2.5 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference.
But the eye test, and some other numbers, would argue otherwise.
Bogaerts might be having his best career season. He’s hitting a career-best .329 with a career-best .941 OPS. He continues to be the best two-strike hitter in baseball. He rarely strikes out. And he’s been as solid as they come on defense.
Asked if it’s his best season yet, Bogaerts said, “I liked my 2018 season a lot. I think that definitely helped me go to another level. Obviously in 2019 I had a better season and obviously this year I’m doing pretty good, but 2018 I felt I was really consistent.”
Having received MVP votes in each of the last three seasons, Bogaerts ranks near the top of the majors in nearly every offensive category in that time. He said there’s still some individual accomplishments on his wish list.
“I want a Gold Glove before I’m all done,” he said. “Let’s not go for it this year … but I think I want that in the future. It would mean a lot to me.”
He was a Gold Glove finalist in 2015, but lost to Alcides Escobar of the Royals.
“In 2015, I think I had a good chance and I think I actually would have won it, but I won a Silver Slugger, which I actually didn’t even know was an award at the time because I was so locked in on the Gold Glove and I thought I had it,” he said. “That kind of crushed me for a little bit. But I would definitely want one of those.”
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