The San Diego Padres took huge swings on some free agents this week and missed. But they finally knocked one out of the park on Wednesday night.
The Padres have signed Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million deal.
San Diego had been aggressive at the winter meetings, which are taking place in SD. They offered Trea Turner $342 million, which was more than he signed for with the Phillies. They also reportedly offered more money to Aaron Judge, who signed for $360 million with the Yankees.
Given the big money contracts they were throwing around, it’s no surprise that they finally landed a player. They’re paying big bucks to Bogaerts though, as his contract works out to around $25 million per season.
The Padres were reported in November to have interest in Bogaerts, and they made good on that rumor.
San Diego now has Fernando Tatis Jr. (14 years, $340 million), Manny Machado (10 years, $300 million) and Bogaerts all on huge deals. They’re also paying Joe Musgrove $20 million per season through 2027. Plus, they have Juan Soto’s free agency looming after 2024. They are not messing around.
San Diego is likely to move Tatis to the outfield (probably right field) and have Trent Grisham play center. Machado would stick at third, Bogaerts would play short, Ha-Seong Kim will probably move to second, and the Padres could either move Jake Cronenworth to first or consider trading him since he would hold so much more value as a second baseman.
The Padres reached the NLCS this year and are aiming higher in the future.
