Xander Bogaerts wins fifth Silver Slugger award of his career

BOSTON  -- Xander Bogaerts is going to add a lot of loot to his bank account this offseason. On Thursday, he took home some more silver.

Bogaerts won his second straight Silver Slugger award on Thursday, once again taking his place as the American League's best offensive shortstop. He led all AL shortstops with a .307 average and .377 OBP during the 2022 season, to go along with his 15 home runs and 73 RBIs for the Red Sox.

This is the fifth Silver Slugger of Bogaerts' career, as he also captured the award in 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2021. He was the only Red Sox player to win a Silver Slugger in 2022.

Now he'll wait to see what else he gets this offseason. Bogaerts officially became a free agent earlier this week when he opted out of the final three years of his contract with the Red Sox. The Boston brass has said that the 30-year-old is their top choice at shortstop, but other teams will likely be willing to break the bank for the four-time All-Star.