Xander Bogaerts Addresses Rumors Of Position Switch With Padres

Nothing went as planned for the San Diego Padres in 2023, therefore, changes could be in order and shortstop Xander Bogaerts is no exception.

Bogaerts ended a decade-long stint with the Boston Red Sox by signing an 11-year, $280 million contract — the seventh largest in Major League Baseball history — with the Padres in free agency. Being one of several premier pieces in a star-studded San Diego roster, Bogaerts and the Padres were ultimately a huge disappointment, finishing 82-80 to mark the organization’s 15th postseason miss in the last 17 seasons.

One solution the Padres reportedly are considering is shifting Bogaerts from the shortstop position, according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic, where the 31-year-old has played since emerging into an established All-Star in Boston.

“It’s a lot more, I would say, mental — mental errors,” Bogaerts explained when addressing 2023, per Lin. “Just trying to rush something that’s not there. Instead of just getting a sure out, I was trying to be quick, get a double play, and the ball comes out. So I would say very solid taking care of the ball (overall), but I had some mistakes where I tried to do a little too much.”

Playing in 155 games through his debut campaign with the Padres, Bogaerts committed a total of eight errors at shortstop and recorded a 98.5 fielding percentage. Bogaerts also finished with a 0.4 dWAR, which ranked 57th among all MLB players.

That could open the door for Ha-Seong Kim to return to shortstop, where he played for two seasons before San Diego welcomed Bogaerts aboard.

Outside of shortstop, Bogaerts also has 53 games of big league experience playing at third base with the Red Sox, but that’s it.