Xander Bogaerts waited his turn, and apparently it has paid off.
The free-agent shortstop agreed to a massive 11-year, $280 million contract with the San Diego Padres early Thursday, according to multiple reports. It is another addition to an already star-studded lineup.
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Bogaerts will likely start the season at shortstop as the Padres will be without Fernando Tatis Jr., who is in the middle of serving an 80-game suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs toward the end of last season.
“From our standpoint, you want to explore and make sure we’re looking at every possible opportunity to get better,” Padres general manager A.J. Preller said before the Bogaerts deal came down. “We’ve got a real desire to win and do it for a long time.”
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Bogaerts had been a staple in the Red Sox lineup for the last few years. The four-time All-Star played for Boston for 10 years. He has hit 2.292 with an .814 OPS and 156 home runs. In 2022, he was an All-Star for the second consecutive season, he hit .307 with 15 home runs.
He terminated his six-year, $120 million contract with the Red Sox at the end of the 2022 season.
San Diego has had a busy six months wheeling and dealing. The team acquired Juan Soto, Josh Bell and Josh Hader around the trade deadline.
The Padres made it to the National League Championship Series but lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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