Xander Bogaerts' $280 million, 11-year contract with the San Diego Padres was finalized Friday after the All-Star slugger passed his physical.
The Padres planned to introduce the shortstop at an afternoon news conference at Petco Park.
“His consistency and top-level production places him among the best players in our game," general manager A.J. Preller said in a statement. "Xander’s makeup and championship pedigree are a strong fit for our team as we look to achieve our goal of bringing a World Series championship to San Diego.”
The Padres reached the NL Championship Series before losing to the Phillies last season.
Bogaerts joins an already deep lineup that includes third baseman Manny Machado and outfielder Juan Soto. Shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. will be eligible to rejoin the Padres on April 20 at the conclusion of his 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
Tatis, who is expected to move to the outfield, missed all of last season. While on the cusp of returning from a fractured left wrist, he was suspended by MLB on Aug. 12. He then had surgery on his troublesome left shoulder as well as a follow-up surgery on his wrist.
The 30-year-old Bogaerts was one of the headliners in a stellar group of free-agent shortstops that also included Trea Turner, Carlos Correa and Dansby Swanson. The Padres met with Turner before he signed with Philadelphia. The Padres drafted Turner in the first round of the 2014 amateur draft before trading him later that year to Washington.
Bogaerts, who’s from Aruba, terminated his $120 million, six-year contract with Boston after the season. He forfeited salaries of $20 million for each of the next three years after hitting .307 with 15 homers and 73 RBIs in 150 games.
Bogaerts is a .292 hitter with 156 homers and 683 RBIs in 10 big league seasons — all with Boston. He helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2013 and 2018.
He had his best big league season in 2019, batting .309 with a career-best 33 homers and 117 RBIs. He had 23 homers and 103 RBIs in 2018.
In 44 postseason games, Bogaerts is a .231 hitter with five homers and 16 RBIs.
