The San Diego Padres signed free agent shortstop Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million deal Wednesday night, in yet another significant Winter Meetings move. Jon Heyman of MLB Network was the first to report the news.
The deal comes after the Padres missed out on fellow free agent star shortstop Trea Turner, who got 11 years and $300 million from the Phillies. Reports afterwards suggested that the Padres offered him more money, but he opted to go to Philadelphia. The two are similar in age as well, with Turner at 29 and Bogaerts at 30.
Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that the signing has no opt-outs and includes no-trade protection. Jayson Stark of The Athletic pointed out that there have been two free agent contracts of 11-plus years in the last three days after there had only been one in the first 46 years of free agency.
Bogaerts is an interesting fit for the Padres, considering they have the suspended but supremely talented Fernando Tatis Jr. Tatis was suspended for 80 games in August after testing positive for a banned substance, and he’ll be eligible to return before the end of April. The Padres also saw the emergence this year of Ha-Seong Kim, another strong defensive shortstop. With Bogaerts locked down at shortstop for the next decade-plus, the Padres may have another position or solution in mind for Tatis.
Bogaerts joins a core with Tatis, Juan Soto and Manny Machado. The right-handed hitter has been in the majors since 2013 and has spent his entire career with the Boston Red Sox. He’s posted a wRC+ of at least 129 each of the last five seasons while playing shortstop. He’s also played in at least 136 games in every year since 2014, besides the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He owns a career 118 wRC+ and 34.2 fWAR.
The Padres capped off a busy couple of days that included numerous long-term contracts and signings of major players.
