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The San Diego Padres had the best record in baseball over the second half of the 2024 season. The Padres’ post-All-Star Game stretch helped them secure the top Wild Card berth in the National League and the team reached the NLCS, where they suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Dodgers.
San Diego is gearing up to make another run in the highly competitive NL West. And Padres’ star third baseman Manny Machado believes Xander Bogaerts will be a key to the team’s success in 2025.
“We’re definitely gonna need him… Right when he was getting hot and getting a feel for it and starting to feel himself at the plate, obviously [he had] an injury,” Machado said of Bogaerts, per 973TheFanSD’s Sammy Levitt on X.
After spending the vast majority of his 12-year career at shortstop, Bogaerts made the switch to second base last season to accommodate Gold Glove winner Ha-Seong Kim. Bogaerts then fractured his shoulder making a diving stop at second. The injury cost him 50 games.
Can Xander Bogaerts help lead the Padres past the powerhouse Dodgers?
Bogaerts is entering the 2025 season healthy and back at a familiar position, as he’ll resume his duties as the Padres' starting shortstop.
“Having him healthy is gonna be huge for us. He’s a guy that can do a lot of things. He can run the bases, steal some bases, hit for power, he can slug. He led the league one year in doubles. So that’s the type of player we’re going to see. We’re going to see him physically ready this year. He’s looking like a little young Bogie out there running around at shortstop. So it’s fun to see him be out there and healthy again and being himself,” Machado added, via Levitt.
Bogaerts spent the first 10-years of his MLB career with the Boston Red Sox. When the four-time All-Star became a free agent prior to the 2023 season, the Padres signed him to an 11-year, $280 million contract.
San Diego has three players – Machado, Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Jr. – on massive contracts and the team needs to get serious production out of the group to have a realistic shot at a title.
The Padres considered trading Bogaerts this offseason but decided to stick with him and run it back in 2025. Now healthy and back in his natural position, Bogaerts is expecting a bounce back performance this year.
