It was a statement. It is the richest contract in the history of the teamwell beyond the $217 million deal David Price agreed to before the 2016 season.
It’s also the longest contract the Red Sox have ever given, surpassing the eight years Manny Ramirez received as a free agent in 2001.
Only five other contracts in major league history are worth more guaranteed money.
Whether Devers deserved the investment was not a question. The 26-year-old third baseman has hit .292 with an .884 OPS over the past four seasons and was a two-time All-Star.
A gifted hitter with all-around power, Devers improved his defensive game enough last season to give the Sox faith he can stay at third base until the final stages of the contract.
The Sox also trust the person. Encouraged by manager Alex Cora, Devers showed leadership last season and embraced the idea that he was one of baseball’s best players.
“I know what I’m worth,” Devers said early last season after rejecting an extension offer from the Sox. “I know what I can do.”
As the Red Sox evolve, Devers will be their centerpiece as players like Brian Bello, Triston Casas, Marcelo Mayer and Garrett Whitlock emerge around him.
It may also have been a career-saving decision for baseball manager Chaim Bloom, whose three years in charge were patchy at best.
It was shameful that the Sox gave up on signing Mookie Betts in 2020 and traded him to the Dodgers for what turned out to be a poor return for a player of his talents.
Then came disaster last month when Xander Bogaerts felt he had no choice but to accept an 11-year, $280 million contract with the Padres because the Sox’s final offer was terribly short.
Bogaerts has expressed a desire to end his career with the Sox, but the team mishandled contract negotiations dating back to spring training last year. Once on the open market, other teams were quick to show Bogaerts how much they appreciated his skills and leadership.
As the Yankees formed a long-term partnership with Aaron Judge that included naming him captain, the Red Sox essentially kicked their de facto captain out of town despite empty promises of how much they wanted to keep him.
The backlash since, which has included Henry booed at Fenway Park when he attended the Winter Classic on Monday, provided ample motivation for the Sox to finally lock down one of their homegrown stars.
The alternative — allowing Devers to arrive in spring training with a year remaining on his contract — would have invited another calamity.
The fact that the Sox have finally broken a destructive pattern and locked away a star player creates hope within the organization and among a fanbase who were tired of hearing that the club had shown interest in a player but had outbid.
Bloom showed he could close a big deal and was able to do more as a manager than sign short-term contracts with second-tier players while preaching sustainability. He needed it, given the ownership’s impatience with its top baseball executives over the past decade.
In the context of what has been an offseason defined by wild spending, the Devers deal is actually a sensible contract. Devers will be 36 last year and has no right to opt out. The Padres will pay Bogaerts until he turns 41.
Devers was already under contract for 2023, so the extension doesn’t change the quality of the roster heading into spring training.
The Sox need improvements in their roster and rotation. But extending Devers proves there is an appetite for further improvements. Or at least there should be.
Even Bogaerts held on to this day.
They have the money to pay for the child. This kid deserves it,” he said last month in San Diego after his first press conference with the Padres. I’m not saying this as a friend, but because of the talent he has on the pitch. He is special.
The Sox also acknowledged it.
Pierre Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.
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