The San Diego Padres are tweaking their infield defense. Erstwhile shortstop Xander Bogaerts is moving to second base, manager Mike Shildt announced Friday (per MLB.com). Ha-Seong Kim will take over at short. Shildt said he presented the idea to Bogaerts in December, and the four-time All-Star was receptive to the move.
"My admiration for Xander Bogaerts went through the roof," Shildt said (per MLB.com).
Bogaerts, 31, has never played second base in his professional career. Not even in the minors. He began his career at third base with the Boston Red Sox, and he's been a full-time shortstop since 2014. Transitioning to the other side of the bag can be difficult, and that's the reason you make the change in spring training. Bogaerts has a full camp to work on it.
The 28-year-old Kim played over 100 games at second base last season, and also played shortstop and third base. He won the National League's utility Gold Glove. Kim is a gifted defender and the numbers say he is a far superior shortstop to Bogaerts. Here are their defensive numbers at short since Kim arrived in MLB in 2021:
| Innings at SS | Defensive runs saved | Outs above average | |
|---|---|---|---|
Bogaerts | 3,704 1/3 | -4 | -1 |
Kim | 1,505 1/3 | +22 | +7 |
Second base still requires plenty of range, though it's a much shorter throw and the defender has more time than he does at short. Also, shortstop tends to be a young player's position. Since 2021, only nine players age 31-plus have played even 100 games at shortstop. It is hardly unheard of for a player Bogaerts' age to move off short.
This has been in the works for some time. It was reported in October that San Diego was considering moving Bogaerts to a different position to improve their infield defense. At the time, it was speculated he could move to first base, though the Padres will take the intermediate step of putting him at second. Bogaerts has 10 years remaining on his contract and could ultimately finish his career at first, though he's not there yet.
The Padres went a very disappointing 82-80 last season, though they rated pretty well defensively overall. As a team, they ranked fifth in defensive runs saved and fourth in outs above average. That said, Bogaerts' defense at short was becoming an issue. Sliding him over to second so Kim can play short figures to improve a glaring defensive weak spot.
