Despite adding Xander Bogaerts to a loaded roster during the offseason, the San Diego Padres have been one of baseball's biggest disappointments so far in 2023.
They enter Monday with a 37-41 record after losing two of three in their series vs. the lowly Washington Nationals. They're currently in fourth place in the National League West standings and 9.5 games behind the division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks.
Bogaerts believes the Padres' struggles aren't due to a lack of effort, but rather "maybe trying to do too much." Whatever the case may be, the former Boston Red Sox shortstop wasn't pleased after dropping a home series to a Nationals club that's in the midst of a rebuild.
"C’mon, man. We’re playing the Nationals," Bogaerts said after the Padres' 8-3 loss on Sunday, per The Athletic's Dennis Lin. "I don’t think they have playoff aspirations. I mean, they obviously have a young team and they fight. They do fight. But I wouldn’t say anyone picked the Nationals to be in the playoffs. So you have to beat the teams that you have to beat.”
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Bogaerts, who signed an 11-year contract worth $280 million in the offseason, is part of a stacked San Diego lineup that includes sluggers Manny Machado, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Nelson Cruz. Despite the star power, the Padres rank 21st in the league in runs scored (335), 16th in OPS (.720), and 25th in batting average (.232).
Through half of a season in a Padres uniform, Bogaerts has underwhelmed. The four-time All-Star is hitting .256/.341/.389 with eight homers and 27 RBIs.
“The whole talk of the whole year pretty much has been (about) the offense. I mean, if we’re gonna be real about it, it’s been on us, man. The pitching has nothing to do with it,” Bogaerts said.
There's still plenty of time for San Diego to get on the right track, but it faces an uphill battle with divisional foes Arizona, Los Angeles, and San Francisco each looking like postseason contenders. Bogaerts is staying optimistic with 84 games left on the Padres' schedule.
"It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish," he said. "So we still have a chance to turn that around and … end on a really strong note. But we have to start. We have to. There’s not a lot of tomorrows left, you know. The season is coming to an end — I mean, not soon, but it is. If we keep tacking on losses, it’s gonna come by quick.”
Bogaerts' former team, meanwhile, is 40-39 and in last place in the competitive American League East. Shortstop has been a glaring weakness for Boston with Kiké Hernández, Pablo Reyes, Yu Chang, Christian Arroyo, David Hamilton, Christian Arroyo, and Enmanuel Valdez each spending time at the position in Bogaerts and Trevor Story's absences.
