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Are Xander Bogaerts' days as a full-time shortstop numbered?
The San Diego Padres signed Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million contract during the offseason. They moved Fernando Tatis Jr. to the outfield and Ha-Seong Kim to second base to make room for their new franchise shortstop.
But with one of the league's top prospects in the pipeline, the Padres are considering moving Bogaerts across the infield in 2024. The Athletic's Dennis Lin reports the forthcoming promotion of Jackson Merrill could lead to the ex-Red Sox shortstop moving to first or second base.
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"Some team officials would like to see Bogaerts move to first base or second base next season, with Kim back at shortstop and Merrill eventually claiming a super-utility job if he does not settle in at one spot," Lin wrote on Friday.
Merrill is the No. 2 ranked prospect in the Padres organization and the No. 9 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. The 20-year-old is considered an above-average defender at shortstop, but he also has experience at first base, second, and left field.
Bogaerts, on the other hand, hasn't played a position other than shortstop since he spent time at third base with Boston in 2014. He has enjoyed a bounce-back defensive season with only four errors in 113 games at short.
His inaugural season in San Diego hasn't gone smoothly, however. Through 120 games played, Bogaerts is hitting .265/.338/.394 with 13 home runs and 42 RBIs. His .732 OPS is the lowest mark since 2014. Much of his struggles can likely be attributed to a nagging wrist injury.
That's one of many reasons the Padres haven't lived up to lofty expectations in 2023. They entered Tuesday with a 60-66 record that puts them a whopping 17.5 games back in the NL West and 5.5 games behind the third National League wild-card spot.
