Dodgers response to Padres signing Xander Bogaerts is laughably bad

While the Los Angeles Dodgers have largely stayed away from the free agent frenzy following Trea Turner’s departure to Philadelphia, the San Diego Padres were able to ensure that at least one perennial All-Star shortstop in their prime was able to make the trip to California.

Xander Bogaerts has agreed to leave the Boston Red Sox and join San Diego, having been enticed by an 11-year contract worth $280 million. San Diego wanted him so badly that they could be willing to make Fernando Tatis Jr. change positions to accommodate their big new SS.

Typically, any big Padres salvo has been answered by an equally big blast from the Dodgers in order to show they are still the class of the NL West. Instead, they chose to address Cody Bellinger’s move to the Chicago Cubs by making an underwhelming minor league signing.

The Dodgers agreed to a minor league contract with former All-Star center fielder Jason Heyward, who is fresh off signing one of the worst contracts in league history and getting unceremoniously dropped from Chicago’s plans. The Dodgers continue to take steps backward this offseason.

Padres fans won’t be impressed by the Dodgers signing Jason Heyward.

Heyward has hit more than 11 home runs in a season just once in the last seven years. Heyward hit .211 with nine home runs in the last two seasons, showing that whatever power stroke he had with the Braves has completely fallen away. Father Time, still, remains undefeated.

While Heyward does have a cabinet full of Gold Glove awards back at his house, he had his worst defensive season ever during his last year as a Cub. Even though Bellinger was terrible during his Dodgers swan song, Heyward is not going to provide much of a short-term boost.

While Clayton Kershaw was retained, and any team led by a combination of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman is going to be a destructive force in the postseason, the Dodgers’ iron grip on the division might be slipping away. San Diego may have a better lineup than the Dodgers if Bogaerts replicates his Boston performance.

Think of the role reversal that has happened this offseason. The Padres have been linked to every big name on the market (and landed one of them), while the Dodgers have been trying to look for more cost-effective options. With the Giants also trying to make noise, this division will be frighteningly competitive.

MLB insider IDs Padres’ next target after Xander Bogaerts move

ESPN's Buster Olney mentioned Michael Conforto, who we last saw in 2021 with the New York Mets, as a potential San Diego Padres target.