OAKLAND -- Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has been in the game for 40 years, and there’s very little that surprises him at this point in his career.

But the fact he was able to secure a six-year, $120 million contract extension with shortstop Xander Bogaerts less than two weeks after reaching a five-year, $145 million extension with ace Chris Sale qualified as the joyfully unexpected.

Once Sale signed, Dombrowski didn’t think the club would be able to extend itself enough to get Bogaerts signed before free agency started in November.

As it turns out, Bogaerts was motivated enough to stay with the Red Sox that a deal was able to be consummated.

“I was not by any means thinking it was going to happen,” Dombrowski said. “Today, when I was recollecting, I was riding with [assistant general manager] Eddie [Romero] to the ballpark, I said, ‘When we had the Chris Sale press conference, I did not think we were going to get this deal done.’ We wanted him the whole time. But I would say very strongly it was Bogey’s desire to be here.”

Make no mistake about it: the driving force in the extension for Bogaerts was, well, Bogaerts.

“I think this was just what was best for me and my family and all that I’ve accomplished here with the Red Sox,” Bogaerts said. “It’s a very special place to play, man. The fans, and the organization in general, expect winning. And I know my teammates know how much I love winning regardless if it’s cards, baseball, dominoes, I don’t care. I just enjoy winning. They know that about me and I think this is a nice place to play.”

Once it was loud and clear to agent Scott Boras what his client wanted to do, Boras needed a few things from the Red Sox, and they complied.

The first was an opt-out clause, which Bogaerts can exercise if he chooses at the end of the 2022 season. The second is a vesting option for 2026 that kicks in if Bogaerts has 535 plate appearances in ’25. If the deal reaches the maximum length, it will be worth $152 million over eight years, including the $12 million that Bogaerts will earn this season from the one-year contract he signed in January.

“It was really a very cooperative effort driven by Xander’s desire to really remain with this team,” Boras said. “I said, ‘Look, if you guys can work on the opt-out thing, I think I can help you’. This is one of those rare instances you have a guy where you kind of have an ability to forecast what his evaluations are. For shortstops to hit 20 home runs is pretty rare. Will he be a 30-home-run guy?

“Basically, I wanted a scenario where he had eight [years] at $152 million. That’s his choice. Or at 29, he can hit the free-agent market knowing, ‘I have an [average annual value] of $20 [million] and I’ve made right around $100 million in my career.’ When you’re that young, you get those choices. Not many players do."

Red Sox assistant general manager Brian O’Halloran and Boras were the key negotiators in the deal, and much of it got done on Opening Day, when the Red Sox were playing the Mariners in Seattle.

After winning a World Series in his first year as manager, Alex Cora now sees an even brighter future with Bogaerts and Sale along for the foreseeable future.

“Great,” Cora said. “Great for us, great for him. I was telling somebody earlier, he’s a great player, he’s a better person. Just a smart individual. Hey, what they said in the press [conference] is true. He wanted to stay here.”

Still to be determined is whether Mookie Betts will sign a long-term deal with the Red Sox. The American League’s reigning Most Valuable Player Award winner is eligible for free agency after the 2020 season.

But Monday was a day to celebrate Bogaerts, who originally signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent out of Aruba at the age of 16.

Many of Bogaerts' teammates packed the small interview room at the Oakland Coliseum to attend the press conference prior to the Red Sox-A's game.

“This is where I grew up as a kid, a 16-year-old kid with no facial hair,” Bogaerts said. “I know how proud they are of me. I’m very thankful for them. I see a lot of my teammates over there. I’m very blessed to have teammates like that, a coaching staff. I can say I won two rings with this organization.

“The group we have last year, the group we have this year, it goes beyond the regular guys. It’s a family.”