The Padres introduced their latest big acquisition in a press conference at Petco Park on Friday afternoon, welcoming star shortstop Xander Bogaerts to San Diego as he begins a new phase of his MLB career.
Bogaerts, 30, signed an 11-year, $280 million contract with the Padres earlier this week, joining a star-studded roster that already features Manny Machado, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Yu Darvish, Josh Hader and others. San Diego continued to show it is willing to spend big to win the franchise’s first World Series title when it signed the four-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger Award winner.
“This team reminds me a lot of the [Red Sox] team that won in ’18, a team that was just so superior to the rest, roster-wise, it was just incredible,” Bogaerts said. “… It was just like, every day when you go to the ballpark, it’s just [what’s the final score going to be?]”
Bogaerts played the first 10 seasons of his career with the Red Sox, who signed him out of Aruba in 2009. He had a breakout campaign in 2018, when he helped lead Boston to a World Series title, and hasn’t looked back since, slashing .301/.373/.508 with 105 homers from 2018-22.
Bogaerts is the fourth player on the Padres who can play shortstop every day, and he was asked how he’d fit into the bigger picture in San Diego — Tatis, Machado and Ha-Seong Kim all have seen significant time at the position in their careers.
“I think I’ll fit in great,” Bogaerts said. “The more position players you have of high caliber, high talent, the more problems it creates [in filling out a lineup], the better. We check our egos at the door and just compete for one goal, trying to get a championship.”
Like Bogaerts, Padres general manager AJ Preller thinks it’s a good problem to have.
“I talked to Manny first, and talked to him about Xander,” Preller said. “And his quote was, ‘The more the merrier.’ Obviously, they know each other well from the American League East, and he was just super positive. … With Fernando, I think he understands he has the ability to play in a lot of different areas, and I think the common theme for everybody was, ‘We want to win.'”
Bogaerts sees Petco Park as a great venue for the type of hitter he is, complementing the fit he sees on the roster. He said that since he’s more of a line-drive hitter, he figures he’ll actually hit more home runs to left field than he did at his former home of Fenway Park, where the Green Monster turns many liners that could go over the wall elsewhere into doubles.
The Padres liked Bogaerts’ bat-to-ball skills, ability to get on base and “battled-tested” resume, having won two World Series rings in Boston.
“The logic of it became very clear about moving runners, advancing runners, getting on base and also having a championship character,” said Padres chairman Peter Seidler. “… To have someone who has gone through it twice, and has done it in a major market and endured the pressure, and had disappointments along the way … I think it’s a remarkable fit to add that experience to this kind of talent, from top to bottom.”
Even after making a surprise push for Aaron Judge late in his free agency, and even after inking Bogaerts to a megadeal, the Padres are reportedly not done shopping this offseason to improve their club even more as they chase the Dodgers, who have won nine of the last 10 National League West titles.
“In baseball, just like in all sports franchises, you can never be done,” Seidler said. “Because things always change. … I think budgets get better when you win world championships, and that’s our goal.”
.