Padres willing to make huge change in order to sign Xander Bogaerts
The Boston Red Sox were already in big trouble on the Xander Bogaerts front, and unsurprisingly, this bad situation is getting worse.
Boston has competition from several eager Bogaerts suitors, and one team is reportedly prepared to do some significant reorganizing in order to convince him to sign. After Juan Soto publicly stated that he’d like Bogaerts to join him in San Diego, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported that the Padres are so in on the decorated shortstop that they’re willing to move Fernando Tatis Jr., whom they signed to the biggest extension in MLB history, to the outfield. Ha-Seong Kim, who did an excellent job filling in for Tatis in 2022, would become a super-utility player.
Compare this display of accommodation to how the Red Sox have treated Bogaerts over the last year. They not only threw money at Trevor Story that should’ve gone to Bogaerts, but actually enlisted their shortstop to help them entice his own replacement. Then, they made Bogaerts an outrageously insulting offer: one extra year and $30M tacked on to the end of the team-friendly extension he asked for in 2019.
Story, meanwhile, has made it abundantly clear that he wants to play second base alongside Bogaerts.
Padres willing to move Fernando Tatis Jr. to outfield for Xander Bogaerts
Bogaerts would hit well in Petco Park’s dimensions, but it’s likely the Padres are also drawn to his leadership skills and role-model personality. In particular, they could see him as a possible mentor for Tatis, who gave them a lot of grief in 2022. He showed up to Spring Training with a fractured wrist from a motorcycle accident, and the injury required surgery. When he was finally rehabbing in late summer, he tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The Padres gave a struggling Robinson Canó a contract when the New York Mets released him last season, in part because Tatis looked up to him as a kid, but ultimately traded him to the Atlanta Braves two months later.
The Red Sox have made their bed and now have to lay in it. Bogaerts deserves the payday he’s earned and to play for an organization that appreciates him. The Sox shoved the face of their franchise out the door and then cried crocodile tears to the public about needing him more than anyone else. If he’s wearing another uniform on Opening Day, the Sox will deserve every ounce of vitriol and scorn that comes their way.
