Xander Bogaerts ‘Looking Forward’ to Joining Stacked Padres’ Lineup
After spending 10 seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Xander Bogaerts is entering a new chapter of his life on the west coast, and he couldn’t be more excited about it.
The 30-year-old shortstop now joins the San Diego Padres after having his 11-year, $280-million contract made official by the team on Friday. His deal runs through 2033, paying him $25.5 million per season and includes a full no-trade clause.
Before the 2022 Winter Meetings wrapped up, the Padres held an introductory press conference for Bogaerts, where he donned the white and brown pinstripes for the first time. The four-time All-Star also discussed his thoughts about moving to San Diego, saying, “I’m looking forward to playing here for the rest of my career.”
Deciding to leave Boston – a city he lived in each summer from 2013-22 – wasn’t easy for Bogaerts, who won two World Series with the Red Sox in 2013 and ‘18. But when the club’s final offer fell short in comparison to the rest of the field, the 6-foot-2 infielder had no choice but to leave town.
That outcome ultimately led him to sign with the Padres in free agency, joining an already talented lineup headlined by Juan Soto, Manny Machado and, eventually, Fernando Tatis Jr. – when he’s healthy and serves his 80-game suspension for PEDs.
Bogaerts has been in the same environment for the past 10 seasons, so it’ll be different when he arrives in Arizona for spring training in February. But, with everyone focused on winning a championship, he shouldn’t have trouble making a seamless transition.
“I think I’ll fit in great,” Bogaerts said. “The more position players you have of high calibre, high talent… the better. Just as players, we put our egos at the door and compete for one goal: We’re just trying to get a championship.”
The Padres fell to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS last season, motivating the front office to add another superstar to their roster this winter. Now, after acquiring Bogaerts, there’s hope he can push them over the edge in 2023.
And if that occurs, the atmosphere at Petco Park will be exhilarating once again, which the former Red Sox is eager to experience.
“This team really wants to win, and you can see how close it is,” Bogaerts said. “Especially watching the games last year… seeing the fans and how electric it was.”
But is there such a thing as too much talent on one team? Perhaps. But that notion doesn’t appear to apply in San Diego, according to the Padres players.
“Elite players, they want to be in a spot where they’re happy and they have the ability to win,” said Padres GM A.J. Preller. “The conversation with Manny, a few nights ago, he said: ‘The more the merrier.’ He’s looking to win a championship. He knows he can’t do it alone.
“From our standpoint, just having a lot of really talented players makes it an even more attractive situation for those guys as they get to their decisions.”
Padres manager Bob Melvin also agrees with those remarks, admitting he’s confident about his team creating a welcoming and thriving culture around Bogaerts.
“It’s about good players,” said Melvin. “In my conversations with the guys on our team, they were all really supportive of it. The more the merrier, like [Machado] was saying. It’s just good players coming in here. We’ll figure it out.”
Bogaerts is coming off another excellent offensive performance, hitting .307/.377/.456 with 15 home runs and 73 RBIs in 150 games during his final season in Boston. The five-time Silver Slugger also posted a 134 wRC+ and a career-high 6.1 fWAR.
Defensively, the right-hander finished with career-bests in DRS (+5) and OAA (+5) over 1,249.2 innings – his highest total since 2019 (1,368.0).
The native of Aruba will no longer share the left side of the infield with Rafael Devers, though he’ll now be partnered alongside Machado, creating one of the most talented duos in the majors.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.