Sources: Bogaerts, Padres agree to $280M deal

SAN DIEGO -- Shortstop Xander Bogaerts and the Padres agreed to an 11-year, $280 cardinal declaration precocious Wednesday, sources confirmed to ESPN, a monumental determination that brings the longtime Boston Red Sox luminary to a squad already laden with prima talent.

The stunning deal, consummated arsenic an particularly progressive wintertime meetings came to a close, adds Bogaerts to a Padres squad that already includes Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. Boston, meanwhile, was near lamenting the nonaccomplishment of a homegrown endowment who made his large league debut astatine 20 years aged and leaves astatine 30 aft opting retired of the last 3 years of his contract.

Bogaerts won a brace of World Series and made 4 All-Star teams, including successful 2022, erstwhile helium deed .307/.377/.456 with 15 location runs and 73 RBIs successful 150 games. The anticipation is helium volition stay astatine shortstop, with Ha-Seong Kim -- who took implicit astatine the presumption successful 2022 erstwhile Tatis was injured and suspended for a affirmative performance-enhancing-drug trial -- moving to 2nd base, incumbent 2nd baseman Jake Cronenworth sliding implicit to first, Tatis shifting to close tract and Soto going to near field.

The deal, which runs done Bogaerts' age-40 season, capped a wintertime meetings during which teams signed 18 players for astir $1.6 billion, including the New York Yankees locking up outfielder Aaron Judge for $360 million, the Philadelphia Phillies signing shortstop Trea Turner for $300 cardinal and the Red Sox spending much than $105 million, betwixt his wage and the posting interest to his erstwhile squad successful Japan, to adhd outfielder Masataka Yoshida.

Bogaerts entered the wintertime arsenic 1 of the prizes of a beardown escaped cause class. After making runs astatine Turner and Judge, the Padres pivoted to Bogaerts, spooked neither by the outgo to motion him nor the domino effect his accomplishment mightiness cause.

With the deal, the Padres' payroll spikes to much than $250 million, a staggering fig for a squad with the 27th-ranked media marketplace successful the country.

Boston, which typically has among the largest payrolls successful the game, declined to play anyplace adjacent the fiscal realm to which the Padres were consenting to go. On a time successful which the Red Sox agreed to a woody with Yoshida arsenic good arsenic a two-year, $32 cardinal pact with person Kenley Jansen, they recovered themselves without different high-profile, fashionable subordinate 2 years aft trading outfielder Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The signs that Bogaerts could permission Boston had percolated aft helium rejected a declaration hold earlier this year. The opt-out successful Bogaerts' six-year, $120 cardinal declaration hold hung implicit the Red Sox similar the sword of Damocles, threatening to instrumentality distant different halfway subordinate of the squad that won the World Series successful 2018 and made the American League Championship Series successful 2021 earlier falling to past spot successful the AL East this year.

As Boston faltered, the Padres ascended with a bid of moves bolder than the last. First, they signed Machado to a 10-year, $300 cardinal escaped cause declaration earlier the 2019 season. Two years later, they gave Tatis a 14-year, $340 cardinal extension. And astatine the commercialized deadline this year, they dealt 5 prospects for Soto, who turned down a $440 cardinal declaration hold connection from his erstwhile team, the Washington Nationals, and tin scope escaped bureau aft the 2024 season.

Without Tatis, the Padres won 89 games and secured a wild-card berth, finishing 22 games backmost of the first-place Dodgers successful the National League West. San Diego bushed the 101-win New York Mets successful the wild-card series, ousted the Dodgers successful the part bid and dropped the NL Championship Series to the Phillies, who mislaid the World Series to the Houston Astros.

The Padres past made the World Series successful 1998, getting swept by the Yankees, and person yet to triumph a title since their inception successful 1969. Now the lone large men's nonrecreational sports squad successful San Diego, the Padres person entranced the city, capping season-ticket income and regularly filling Petco Park arsenic they fell conscionable shy of 3 cardinal attendees, the fifth-highest fig successful shot down the Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Yankees and Atlanta Braves.

The magnitude the Padres were consenting to walk to motion Bogaerts nevertheless stunned the shot industry. While Machado tin opt retired of his declaration aft the 2023 play and the Padres are slated to shed astir $60 cardinal successful payroll beyond him with the impending escaped agencies of pitchers Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Josh Hader and Drew Pomeranz, the fiscal three-card monte successful which they are engaging near rival executives questioning their semipermanent plan.

The Padres wage nary caput to extracurricular opinions. Moving Kim and his elite glovework astatine shortstop to 2nd for Bogaerts, who scouts and antiaircraft metrics hold is inferior defensively? No problem. Depleting their elite workplace strategy for the last 2½ years of Soto's nine control? The terms of gathering a championship-caliber team.

Bogaerts knows what World Series rings look like, nabbing a brace successful his 10-year career, during which helium has deed .292/.356/.458 with 156 location runs and 683 RBIs portion playing astatine slightest 136 games successful each of his 8 afloat seasons. The quality to enactment steadfast proved a hallmark for Bogaerts, who signed with the Red Sox retired of Aruba arsenic a 16-year-old, rocketed to the large leagues and became a fixture successful the lineup with a saccharine right-handed plaything oriented for interaction and damage.

Now helium volition articulation an discourtesy that, contempt the prima power, ranked 13th successful the large leagues with 705 runs. The summation of Bogaerts and instrumentality of Tatis should supercharge it.

Boston, connected the different hand, faces superior questions astir its contiguous and future.

The Red Sox could determination 2nd baseman Trevor Story to his earthy presumption astatine shortstop, though the velocity connected his throws, according to scouts, could hinder his effectiveness determination a twelvemonth aft helium signed a six-year, $140 cardinal escaped cause deal. Boston besides needs to fig retired the aboriginal of prima 3rd baseman Rafael Devers, a 26-year-old who tin deed escaped bureau aft the 2023 play and is expected to bid implicit $300 million. The Red Sox and Devers stay acold isolated connected hold talks, sources said.

MLB Network archetypal reported the statement betwixt Bogaerts and the Padres.