Xander Bogaerts will move off shortstop just two seasons into his 11-year pact with the San Diego Padres.
Padres manager Mike Shildt announced on Friday the former Boston Red Sox star, who signed a $280 million deal with San Diego last winter, will switch to second base in 2024. Ha-Seong Kim will take Bogaerts' place at shortstop fresh off a Gold Glove campaign.
Bogaerts has never played second base in his 11-year MLB career. The 31-year-old played 53 games at third base between the 2013 and 2014 seasons but has only played shortstop since.
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"I don't want to misrepresent: Xander Bogaerts played a really good shortstop for the San Diego Padres last year and was a positive part of us," Shildt told reporters, per MLB.com. "But now you look at it, and you do have a guy in Kimmy that also won a Gold Glove as a utility infielder. I will never speak for Bogey. … But he recognizes Kimmy's value at shortstop and is a good teammate for that."
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Despite his lack of experience at the position, Bogaerts was expected to move to second at some point during his lengthy Padres contract. While he wasn't a defensive liability for the Padres last season, the two-time World Series champion's range has gotten noticeably worse in recent years. Given Kim's defensive prowess, the switch makes perfect sense for San Diego as it looks to improve up the middle.
Still, this likely isn't what president of baseball operations AJ Preller and the Padres had in mind when they broke the bank for Bogaerts in Dec. 2022. Bogaerts was paid $280 million to be the club's franchise shortstop for a chunk of his 11-year deal.
Offensively, Bogaerts is coming off an up-and-down debut season in San Diego. He finished with a .285/.350/.440 slash line with 19 homers and 58 RBIs in 155 games.
Bogaerts isn't the only former Red Sox star switching to second base for a National League West club next season. Mookie Betts will move from the outfield to second for the Los Angeles Dodgers.