*Photo from MassLive*
They were on the hunt, and they got their man. The San Diego Padres and SS Xander Bogaerts have agreed to a 11 year, $280 million deal, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Padres have officially confirmed the move.
The 30 year old Bogaerts gets a 11 year deal from the Padres, the longest contract given to a player aged 30 or older. There is also a full no trade clause and no opt outs, giving Bogaerts control of his future with the Padres for all 11 seasons. The Bogaerts move first broke at the end of the Winter Meetings, right after Trea Turner and Aaron Judge signed their big contracts.
2022 was Bogaerts's 10th season in the bigs. He possessed a .307 batting average, .377 on base percentage, and .833 OPS, adding 15 home runs to go with 73 RBI's, suiting up for 150 games in the regular season and being selected to the AL All Star team.
Padres GM AJ Preller said of getting Bogaerts that "We are very excited to add Xander to the San Diego Padres. His consistency and top-level production places him among the best players in our game. Xander’s makeup and championship pedigree are a strong fit for our team as we look to achieve our goal of bringing a World Series championship to San Diego."
Over his career, Bogaerts has consistently been one of the best shortstops with the bat. However, he made big strides defensively in 2022, accounting for positive defensive runs saved and outs above average for the first time in his career with the glove.
At the start of the offseason, Bogaerts was tied to the qualifying offer after the Boston Red Sox issued him one, which he rejected. Signing in San Diego, the Padres will now lose their second and 5th round draft picks, plus $1 million in international bonus pool money. The Red Sox will receive a draft pick in the compensation round that follows the 4th round in the 2023 draft.
Bogaerts said of signing with the Padres that "I think I'll fit in great. The more position players you have of high caliber, 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. This team really wants to win, and you can see how close it is. Especially watching the games last year, seeing the fans and how electric it was."
The signing of Bogaerts adds another face to a highly talented Padres infield. He'll probably be the starting shortstop, while Manny Machado will flank him at 3rd base. Ha-Seong Kim is likely to shift over to second base now, while Jake Cronenworth will likely start at first base.
All 10 seasons of Bogaerts's career have been with the Red Sox since signing with them out of Aruba as a 16 year old. He has a career .292 batting average with a .458 slugging percentage and .356 on base percentage, hitting 156 home runs to go with 683 RBI's in 1,264 games. In the postseason, Bogaerts has a .231 batting average with 16 RBI's and 5 home runs in 44 playoff games.
The starting infield now appears set for the Padres on opening day, but the Bogaerts signing clouds things up for Fernando Tatis Jr. He's due back from a PED suspension early in May, and the move to get Bogaerts could result in Tatis getting pushed to the outfield full time.
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