Xander Bogaerts Says Red Sox Told Him He Will Not Be Traded amid Rumors

Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts said he received confirmation from the club's front office he won't be moved before Tuesday's 2022 MLB trade deadline.

Bogaerts, who hit a go-ahead home run in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians, said he's "been playing better" since getting clarity on his future from Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and team president Sam Kennedy, though he didn't want to reveal too many details from the conversation.

"Yeah. I don't know if I should say that, but I hope I don't get in trouble," he told reporters. "But yeah, much better like that. Communication is always huge in everything in life. To get that type of feedback is beneficial, I would say."

Bloom explained Wednesday the front office wasn't "planning to discuss them with anybody" in reference to Bogaerts or Rafael Devers, but he added a caveat.

"The best thing I can say is we're not doing our jobs if we're not considering all possibilities," Bloom said.

The Red Sox have fallen to last place in the AL East, but that's more a sign of the division's strength than any type of severe weakness within the club.

They own a 50-50 record following Thursday's triumph over the Guardians. They were in second place in the AL East on June 26 with a 42-31 record before falling into a slump leading up to the All-Star break. They are 3.5 games behind the final wild-card spot.

Bogaerts told NESN's Jahmai Webster he's hopeful the club doesn't make any drastic changes and gives the players a chance to surge back during the stretch run of the regular season:

The 29-year-old shortstop has been a bright spot amid Boston's up-and-down year. He's compiled a .318 batting average and .856 OPS with eight homers and seven stolen bases in 96 games. His 4.3 WAR ranks second at the position behind the Atlanta Braves' Dansby Swanson (4.7), per FanGraphs.

Bogaerts' future with the club mostly came into question because his six-year, $120 million contract features an opt-out clause following the 2022 season. Losing him to free agency would obviously be a major setback for the organization.

His agent, Scott Boras, told Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe in May they didn't expect to discuss the contract situation with the team until the offseason.

So the Red Sox are taking on some risk if they keep Bogaerts through the deadline without assurances he's planning to either re-sign or pick up the option.

For now, it doesn't sound like a blockbuster trade is on the horizon, though.