Fresh off signing an 11-year, $28 million contract with the San Diego Padres, shortstop Xander Bogaerts met reporters Friday to talk baseball.
Bogaerts said some polite things, thanking his former team, the Boston Red Sox, the people there who helped his career, etc.
But reading between the lines, it’s clear the four-time All-Star player is an All-Star at subtly casting shade, which he did at his former team.
“I feel great,” Bogaerts told reporters (via the New York Post). “Sometimes it’s hard to turn the page, but it’s something I have to do. I was very thankful and appreciative for my time with the other team, the Red Sox, and I met a lot of people who helped me out and helped me be the player I am today.
“It was a great run. But this is a different challenge, one I’m looking forward to. This team wants to win. … You could see the fans in the postseason, how electric it was, and something we obviously didn’t have [in Boston] this year.”
The “This team wants to win” reference to the Padres is a cold dagger aimed at the Red Sox and their failure to make what Bogaerts considered a reasonable offer. Despite Boston general manager Chaim Bloom saying the shortstop was the team’s No. 1 priority this offseason, the team’s best offer, a reported six-year, $160 million package, fell far short of San Diego’s winning bid.
No wonder Red Sox fans are angry about the team losing the popular 30-year-old shortstop.
Bogaerts continued his subtle shading Friday, thanking the Padres for being “straightforward” during contract negotiations.
