Padres putting pressure on Xander Bogaerts following difficult 2024 season

San Diego Padres President of Baseball Operations AJ Preller gave an end-of-the-year press conference earlier this week and fielded a number of questions from the media while also offering some tidbits about the team's offseason plans.

While Ha-Seong Kim's free agency, next year's payroll, and Joe Musgrove's injury dominated the conversation, Preller was also asked about Xander Bogaerts and the struggles he endured in 2024. Preller did not mince words when talking about the Padres' high-priced infielder.

"If we’re going to be a playoff team next year, my guess is we're having this conversation next year, we look up and Xander has an All-Star-type season, and I feel very confident he’s capable of doing that."

AJ Preller expects Padres' infielder Xander Bogaerts to have an All-Star season in 2025

That is a mighty high bar for a player who posted a 95 wRC+ and was worth only 2.0 fWAR in 2024. That said, given the massive payday Bogaerts received just two years ago, Preller should be expecting nothing less from his veteran infielder.

Those comments, along with others made during the press conference, would seem to indicate that San Diego expects Bogaerts to return to his All-Star form while operating as the Padres shortstop in 2025.

More and more, it's looking like Kim will not return to the Padres next season. While the idea of moving either Jackson Merrill or Fernando Tatis Jr. back to shortstop has been floated, the most likely scenario would be Bogaerts shifting over from second base if San Diego looks to fill the void from within.

Prior to this past season — one that saw Bogaerts spend nearly two months on the IL with a shoulder fracture — the veteran was one of the more accomplished players in the league. From 2021-2023, Boagaerts hit .295/.365/.462 with a 127 wRC+ and was worth 14.8 fWAR.

That's the player that Preller expects to see on the field next season, and if the Friars get that version of Bogaerts in 2025, the Padres' top decision-maker predicts San Diego will be back in the postseason.

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