Padres To Deploy Xander Bogaerts At Shortstop In 2025

Longtime shortstop Xander Bogaerts headed into the 2024 season as the Padres’ new everyday second baseman, but he moved back to short in September to fill the void when Ha-Seong Kim was lost to a season-ending shoulder injury. With Kim now poised to join the Rays, the path is clear for Bogaerts to return to his old position. Padres manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune) that Bogaerts will be the team’s regular shortstop in 2025, and that the veteran is “excited” about the opportunity.

The news isn’t necessarily a shock, as Bogaerts retook the position down the stretch and into the postseason while Kim was on the IL late last year. He’s far from the only player on the roster with shortstop experience, but president of baseball operations AJ Preller made it clear at the start of the offseason that he wasn’t enthused by the prospect of moving either of his former shortstops in the outfield, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill, back onto the infield dirt in 2025. There have been at least some indications throughout the winter that rival clubs have expressed interest in Bogaerts as a potential trade candidate but the veteran’s hefty contract has long made such an arrangement look unlikely. It’s hardly a shock that San Diego has him penciled in for the starting shortstop gig to open the season given the unlikeliness of a trade, particularly now that Kim has reached an agreement elsewhere that will shut the door on a reunion.

As Bogaerts enters his age 32 season in 2025, he’ll be looking to rebound from the worst campaign of his career last year. In the second year of his 11-year, $280MM contract with San Diego the infielder was limited to just 111 games by a fractured left shoulder and hit just .264/.307/.381 (95 wRC+) when healthy enough to take the field. Notably, Bogaerts began to look a bit more like himself after returning from injury in the second half with a .299/.338/.432 (117 wRC+) in 64 games after being activated from the injured list in mid-July. That’s more or less in line with the 119 wRC+ he posted during his first year in San Diego, when he was able to put together a campaign worth 4.6 fWAR. That was the seventh best season among all shortstops in baseball in 2023, and the Padres would surely be delighted by a similar performance in 2025.

With Bogaerts seemingly entrenched at shortstop, the rest of the club’s infield mix falls into place with Manny Machado remaining at third base while Jake Cronenworth slides over to second in place of Bogaerts. Luis Arraez stands as the current top candidate to handle first base as things stand despite his name frequently appearing in the rumor mill this winter, but the Padres preferred to use him as their DH for the majority of his time in San Diego last year. With at least one bat seemingly needed between first base and DH, where Arraez ends up playing could come down to what player is added to the 1B/DH mix alongside him. J.D. Martinez and Justin Turner are among the best remaining players available at DH in free agency, while first base has a handful of relatively affordable veterans available like Anthony Rizzo and Mark Canha.