BOSTON (WHDH) - Boston’s Nathan Eovaldi and Xander Bogaerts have rejected qualifying offers from the Red Sox, a not-unexpected bump in the road for efforts to bring the free agents back for 2023.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that the pitcher and shortstop both rejected their offers Tuesday evening, with other notable rejections across the league including Aaron Judge and Jacob deGrom.
Bogaerts previously opted out of his contract to become a free agent last week, three seasons into his six-year, $132 million deal with the team. In addition to the qualifying offer, he has reportedly been considering an 8-year deal worth $225 million.
In the case of Eovaldi, MLB.com reported that the right-handed pitcher is also looking for a raise and multi-year deal after rejecting the team’s $19.65 million qualifying offer. The short-term offer would have only been $2 million higher than his $17 million annual salary. Reports have suggested that besides the qualifying offer, Eovaldi is entertaining a multi-year contract offer from the team.
Back in 2018, Eovaldi signed a four-year, $68 million contract with Boston, coming off of a World Series-winning season. In 2022, despite a stint on the injured list, the 32-year-old went 6-3 across 20 starts.
If either player ends up signing with another team, the Red Sox would receive a compensatory draft pick after the 4th round.
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