Padres hoping Xander Bogaerts' return brings consistency to roller coaster season

The San Diego Padres may have preferred to end the first half of the 2024 season with results better than getting beaten up by the Diamondbacks and Mariners, but they are in a pretty good spot heading into the All-Star break. However, the way they have gotten into Wild Card contention has been a long and winding road.

After the end of April, the Padres actually had a losing record and it felt very much like a roster that was reeling a bit from all of the losses they suffered during the offseason. A pair of winning months later, fans thought that the Luis Arraez trade represented the second coming of Tony Gwynn, and the Padres were contenders again. During that entire stretch, there were ups and downs and injuries and breakout performances. It has been quite the ride.

With the news that Xander Bogaerts could return as soon as Friday, we could finally see what the Padres can be on a consistent basis.

There are still hurdles to overcome, but the Padres' offense could finally get consistent again with Bogaerts' return

Obviously it would be much better if both Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Jr. were coming back, but fans will have to wait a bit longer for Tatis Jr.'s prodigious talent to return. However, getting Bogaerts back and assuming that he resembles the guy that was a four-time All-Star will give this team something that they could sorely need right now: depth and consistency.

When the Padres have Jurickson Profar and Jackson Merrill cooking, they can beat anyone in the league this year. However, when those guys aren't getting pitched to, or when they suffer through off nights, there are plenty of examples of the offense looking very flat. A productive Bogaerts changes all of that. Players can start getting some days off for some rest, and there will suddenly be less onus on the top guys to carry the load.

The Padres' future is not written in stone. Yu Darvish's status is very much up in the air, and obviously we don't know how quickly Tatis Jr. or Joe Musgrove will return from their ailments. All of those guys are difference-makers when they are right. However, getting Bogaerts back is a solid step in the right direction.

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