Padres and SS Xander Bogaerts agree to 11-year, $280 million contract: Sources

The San Diego Padres Free agent Xander Bogaerts has agreed to an 11-year, $280 million contract, major league sources have confirmed. the athlete. MLB Network’s John Heyman was first to report the news. Here’s what you need to know:

• Bogaerts batted .307/.377/.456 with 73 RBIs and 15 home runs in 150 games last season.
• Ranked #5 in the athleteKeith Law’s 2022-23 Best Free Agents list.
• Bogaerts opted out of the last three years and $60 million of his life red socks Contract November 7 to become a free agent.

Scout report

With the signing, Bogaerts is expected to continue playing for a short time Ha Seung Kim plays second base, Jake Cronworth plays first base and Fernando Tatis Jr He moves abroad.

Bogaerts is coming off a slightly different platform than his norm, failing to reach 20 for the first time in a full season since 2017, but playing his best defense ever. Bogaerts, who turned 30 on Oct. 1, had his best defensive season by advanced metrics — it was only his second year with an above-average positive number, at plus-5.

The boost in his defensive production makes up for the loss in his hard contact, but the likely trend for all players in their 30s is for defensive value to slide and for them to drop down the defensive spectrum.

Padres’ immediate motive

The Padres considered Bogaerts the best hitter among the Big 4 shortstops in this free agent class. Tria Turner, as evidenced by a failed bid of $342 million, was their top priority. Next, San Diego had a sparkling but brief courtship Aaron Judge.

After going 0-for-2 on All-Star goals, General Manager AJ Preller would not be denied for the third time. In agreeing to a surprisingly huge commitment to the Bogaerts, the Padres have far outperformed the competition. The Boston Globe reported that the Red Sox’ offers for their longtime shortstop were less than $200 million. – flexible

Other factors loom large for San Diego

At this point, sweepstakes don’t seem too outlandish for the Padres. But their apparent desire to make a splash was motivated in part by considerations for the future. In light of recent nine-figure decades, Manny Machado It looks increasingly likely to drop out after the 2023 season and possibly pursue another $300 million payout.

The Padres realize that the expansion Juan Soto, the world’s most athletic hitter at 24, could be a long shot. For at least one season, San Diego should benefit from one of the strongest offensive quartet in baseball: Soto, Machado, Bogarts and Fernando Tatis Jr. – flexible

Did this make sense for the Red Sox?

Bogaerts was the heart and soul of the Red Sox in many ways, but at some point this deal just didn’t make sense for the Red Sox, not as much as $280 million, but for 11 years. While earlier in the day there was apparent optimism from the Red Sox that they were working toward a deal, Chief Baseball Official Chaim Blum said candidly when asked about a timeline for working toward a Bogaerts deal, “I don’t know. It wouldn’t be my place to say it but I think the game teaches you, You shouldn’t speculate too much about these things.”

Earlier in the week, the Red Sox narrowly missed out on free agent deals to Zack EvelynAnd the Andrew Heaney and Tommy Kanhl, but this takes it to a whole new level. After a productive day with existing or pending deals Chris MartinAnd the Kenley Jansen And Masataka Yoshida, ending meetings in this way brings the club back closer to square one. – Jennings

What’s next for boston

The Red Sox now have several questions to answer, mainly, what do they do from here? Who will they go after in short? Dansby Swanson or Carlos Correa in free agency? trade? Or will it transform Kiki Hernandez or Trevor’s story To shortstop and fill outfield or second base hole instead? How do they fill Bogart’s midfield gap? – Jennings

required reading

(Photo: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)