Xander Bogaerts left the Boston Red Sox organization as a free agent after the 2022 season, which has been a huge blow to his former team.
Boston's shortstop position has been unstable since Bogaerts' departure and the team's offense has been lacking. Meanwhile, Bogaerts has been to the playoffs since his tenure with the San Diego Padres began.
The Dodgers eliminated San Diego in the NLDS after its offense screeched to a halt in Games 4 and 5. Bogaerts' production was minimal for the entire series, though, and he clocked just four hits, one being a homer, in his seven postseason appearances. Padres general manager AJ Preller mentioned he hopes to see more from the veteran infielder next year.
". . .If we’re going to be a playoff team next year, my guess is … Xander has an All-Star-type season, and I feel very confident he’s capable of doing that,” Preller said in a virtual end-of-season presser.
“Part of it was the injury, but I think he’s going to look at this year and make some adjustments to make sure that he comes back next year and he’s back as one of the top players in the game.”
Padres GM AJ Preller pressures former Red Sox Xander Bogaerts to post rebound 2025 season
AJ Preller says that the expectations for Xander Bogaerts is that he has a lot of good baseball left and players may underperform over small stretches but they're glad he's coming back and expect him to be an All-Star caliber player.
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) October 21, 2024
The Padres gave Bogaerts the hefty deal the Red Sox wouldn't offer — 11 years, $280 million — but his play hasn't lived up to that price. Bogaerts slashed .285/.350/.440 over 155 games in 2023, but .264/.307/.381 in 2024. The veteran only played 111 games due to a shoulder injury that derailed the middle of his campaign, but his offensive production has decreased since his move to the West Coast. Bogaerts was even moved off his usual shortstop position in favor of Ha-Seong Kim's defense earlier in the season, only to be moved back later.
Bogaerts batted .292/.356/.458 with a .814 OPS over his 10 years with the Red Sox, which is the level of offense the Padres organization expected when it threw an 11-year deal the shortstop's way. He earned MVP votes in each of his final five seasons in Boston, along with All-Star nods and Silver Sluggers in three of those years. Peak Bogaerts could've taken the Padres' offense from good to great.
Donovan Solano and Jurickson Profar both had great offensive years in San Diego, but are impending free agents. Many experts also think the Padres will move on from Kim, who has a mutual option on his contract before the 2025 season. Bogaerts' 2025 season needs to improve to make up for those losses so the Padres can thrive, an acceptable expectation for a veteran of his pay grade.