Tom Caron: With Xander Bogaerts gone, all eyes turn to Red Sox’s front office

Former Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts puts on a Padres jersey as General Manager A.J. Preller looks on at a news conference Friday to announce his $280 million, 11-year contact with San Diego. Denis Poroy/Associated Press

The next steps will be critical.

That’s the reality Chaim Bloom, chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox, finds himself in after watching another generational talent head west. Xander Bogaerts, the two-time champion and de facto captain of the team, now calls San Diego home after signing a stunning 11-year contract with the Padres.

A team that traded Mookie Betts to the Dodgers less than three years ago now loses another cornerstone player. The ramifications felt by the Bogaerts deal will be both short and long term.

The Red Sox front office has less than four months to shore up the infield. The team could shuffle players currently on the roster. Trevor Story has spent most of his career at shortstop and Kiké Hernández has plenty of experience in the middle of the infield.

But either of those moves creates other problems. If Story goes to short someone will have to be the everyday second baseman. Christian Arroyo has been an impact player when healthy, but has had trouble avoiding injury. If Hernández is the shortstop the Sox will need an outfielder. Jarren Duran has yet to prove he’s an everyday major league option.

There are still shortstops available on the free-agent market. Carlos Correa is the best of the bunch and has a very close relationship with Boston manager Alex Cora. There’s no double Cora would love to have him, but Correa is likely to be the target of many teams. We have seen no indication that the Red Sox under Bloom will outbid teams offering deals in excess of seven years.

At 28, Dansby Swanson is a year-and-a-half younger than Bogaerts. Over the past three years he has hit the most home runs of the three shortstops. He’s durable, having played all but two games for the Atlanta Braves since the start of the 2020 season.

Swanson turned down a qualifying offer from the Braves after the season, meaning the Red Sox would forfeit draft picks and international free-agent signing money if they sign him. It also means his offers could be suppressed. Last winter Story was the same age and hit free agency with a qualifying offer attached. The Sox signed him to a six-year, $140 million contract. That could be the spot where the Sox and Swanson begin their discussions.

The loss of Bogaerts put the focus on Boston’s shortstop situation, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Red Sox need pitching help. Bloom did a good job addressing the bullpen problems when he added closer Kenley Jansen along with reliable setup men Chris Martin and Joely Rodriguez.

Yet he missed out on starter Zach Eflin, who chose Tampa Bay over Boston. Now he will be kicking the tires on pitchers who will be looking to ride the wave in the wake of a winter meetings shopping spree that saw teams commit more than $2 billion to free agents.

Bloom took part in that spending spree by signing three relievers and Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida to a five-year deal worth a reported $90 million. The total commitment comes to $105.4 million when you factor in the $15.4 million posting fee paid to sign him. Yoshida fills a void in left field, and his signing led to period of happiness in the fanbase that lasted about 10 hours.

It ended with the news the Bogaerts was leaving after 10 years in the organization. Red Sox fans are now wondering what the team is trying to do as it looks to move on from its second last-place finish in three years.

It will take a great deal of creativity, let alone money, for Bloom to navigate out of the immense shadow left behind by the loss of Bogaerts. The moves he makes in the coming weeks won’t just dictate how competitive the Red Sox are in 2023, they will in large part determine if anyone cares.

Tom Caron is a studio host for the Red Sox broadcast on NESN.