After a colossally disappointing 2023 campaign, the San Diego Padres may no longer have the luxury of upgrading their roster in the offseason. In fact, they could be cutting costs and trading one of their top assets in Juan Soto. The organization is still expected to contend for a championship, however, and therefore might need to just make some minor adjustments to their existing team in order to field the best baseball product possible.
“Field” is the key word there. While the Padres ranked well defensively, particularly in the advanced metrics, there is an obvious positional change they can make that could yield even better results. It would entail a major adjustment for one of their biggest and highest-paid stars.
San Diego could consider moving shortstop Xander Bogaerts elsewhere on the infield, as reiterated by The Athletic's Dennis Lin. Until a torrid September, the four-time All-Star perfectly mirrored the underachievement of the entire team, batting just .258 with a modest .721 OPS. He finished with a .285/.350/.440/.790 slash line, which will look far better than the distressed fans who watched the team all year will remember.
Why Padres could benefit from Xander Bogaerts changing positions
One statistic that did not improve in the final stretch of the season was Bogaert's defense. He made multiple, uncharacteristic errors at short (finished with only eight, but a good bulk of them came late). The native of Aruba has made a concentrated effort these last couple years to become a more reliable fielder, and he has succeeded. However, he will not reach the elite ceiling of second baseman Ha-Seong Kim, certainly not at 31 years of age.
Kim, a natural shortstop, is a Gold Glove finalist for his excellent defense. It makes all the sense in the world to slide him over to the left side to man the most important position in the infield. But where would that leave Bogaerts? The two-time World Series champion would be forced to venture into unfamiliar territory, either at second in a simple swap or first base. Jake Cronenworth would shift to second in the latter scenario.
The Padres have made a huge investment in Xander Bogaerts and cannot afford to turn him into a liability, which could potentially happen if the position change was not to go smoothly. This dilemma was one management knew was inevitable, but San Diego was hoping to be faced with it following a World Series parade. The time for pondering begins now.
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