Xander Bogaerts apparently is drawing some interest out west.
It's a good offseason to be a shortstop, as four of Major League Baseball's best players at the position are free agents. Bogaerts is a part of an elite quartet that also includes Carlos Correa, Trea Turner and Danby Swanson, all of whom are in line to sign rich, long-term contracts at some point this winter.
A few teams, like the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies, have been consistently mentioned in shortstop rumors and make sense as landing spots for one or a few of the players previously mentioned. But there's often a dark horse that comes out of nowhere and makes a big splash, and that noise potentially could come from the Padres in the coming months.
In a column published Thursday, the New York Post's Jon Heyman identified San Diego as a "surprise" team in the shortstop market and the organization "likes" Bogaerts, specifically. The Padres, of course, recently made a big investment at the position, but Heyman believes Fernando TatÃs Jr. could move to the outfield if San Diego brings in Bogaerts. TatÃs also is building a reputation as being somewhat unreliable, which might factor into the Padres' reported shortstop search.
Another potential under-the-radar Bogaerts suitor to keep an eye out for is the Minnesota Twins, who reportedly could shift their focus to the longtime Red Sox shortstop if they aren't able to retain Correa.
