MLB free agency this offseason has been co-headlined by another crop of strong shortstops hitting the open market in Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, Dansby Swanson and Trea Turner.
The Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants have been among the teams connected to more than one from the group. The Dodgers have a glaring need at shortstop in the wake of Trea Turner agreeing to sign an 11-year, $300 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Prior to Turner and the Phillies coming to terms on the mega contract, the Dodgers were said to have interest in Bogaerts.
It’s unclear if there was recent contact between them, but that’s now a moot point as Bogaerts agreed to sign an 11-year, $280 million contract with the Padres on the final day of MLB’s Winter Meetings in San Diego, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post:
Bogaerts to Padres. $280M 11 years
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 8, 2022
Bogaerts is coming off a strong season in which he batted .307/.377/.456 with 38 doubles, 15 home runs and 73 RBI across 631 plate appearances over 150 games. He additionally played quality defense and accumulated 5.8 WAR — the second-highest total of his career.
Bogaerts rejected the $19.65 million qualifying offer from the Red Sox, so any team that signs him will be required to give up draft compensation.
Padres make splash with Xander Bogaerts
Although the contract terms for Bogaerts may be somewhat of a surprise, the Padres in some regard wound up bargain shopping.
They reportedly made substantial contract offers to Turner and Aaron Judge, both of whom rejected their overtures. Now San Diego has a talented hitter to place in their lineup that could be among the best in baseball.
Furthermore, Bogaerts provides the Padres with some insurance if Manny Machado opts out of his contract after the 2023 season and isn’t re-signed.
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