FORT MYERS, Fla. — One might think that Carlos Correa landing a big contract on a team other than the Red Sox might’ve been a relief for Xander Bogaerts, who has been defiant in his stance that he is the team’s shortstop.
But upon hearing the news that Correa had agreed with the Twins on a three-year deal reportedly worth $105 million, Bogaerts seemed more concerned with the Red Sox adding somebody, anybody, to make the lineup more dangerous.
“I mean, we have a couple more weeks still, so I don’t know what’s going to happen or what they’re going to do, but you can see what everyone is saying,” Bogaerts said. “We lost a couple big guys, so if you can add, anytime you can add impact players, it’ll benefit the team and make the team a better team. We’ll see what happens in these weeks. Obviously the names are falling off the board, so we’ll see what happens.”
Bogaerts noted that the Sox lost Hunter Renfroe, who hit 31 home runs in an “unbelievable” season last year, and Kyle Schwarber, “who was huge, too.”
With most of the best free agents now signed on with other teams, there are two position players left who look like a good fit for Boston: Trevor Story and Michael Conforto.
Story, the longtime Rockies’ shortstop, is a right-handed hitter who has been linked to the Sox as an option to play second base. But there are concerns about his throwing arm and his ability to hit away from hitter-friendly Coors Field, where he has a career .972 OPS compared to an OPS of .752 everywhere else.
Conforto, a former Mets outfielder, would be the best left-handed hitting option available to replace Schwarber. He’s crushed right-handed pitching throughout his career (.873 OPS, compared to a .675 OPS vs. lefties) and has the makeup of a player who has yet to hit his prime.
Manager Alex Cora and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom have preached patience when it comes to big additions, but the Sox are running out of options.
Cora said he hasn’t noticed any difference in Bogaerts this spring, despite the speculation that he might need to change positions.
“The same guy,” Cora said. “He’s so consistent in what he does … . I believe that this year it’s a little bit louder because of the free agent class that just got signed. The only thing you can control is to go out there and perform, and he has been doing that for a while.”
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