Shortstop Xander Bogaerts of the San Diego Padres takes a lot of big hits and criticism for his massive contract, but it’s hardly his fault. Bogaerts signed the deal in good faith, and he’s played hard and been a good teammate, but that doesn’t change the level of shade he draws.
To get an idea of how that works, Brian Murphy of MLB.com just published lists of the top ten players at each position, and Bogaerts didn’t even make the shortstop list. This sort of thing is going to get worse as Bogaerts’ contract ages, but it’s still shocking to see it surfacing so early in the deal.
The shortstop at the top of the list makes for a dramatic comp. Bobby Witt Jr. is considered the best shortstop in the game, and teh difference between his stats and Bogaerts are more than a little dramatic. Witt hit 23 home runs in 2025 to go with 88 RBIs, while Bogaerts hit just 11 and just 53 RBIs.
Their salaries, however, are remarkably close. Bogaerts makes just over $25 million a year, while Witt signed an 11 -year extension that pays him just over $26 million a year. Witt is also eight years younger than the 33-year old Bogaerts, so this disparity is just going to keep getting worse.
To look at it a different way, consider the names of some of the other shortstops on the list. The average fan has barely heard of the likes of Geraldo Perdomo of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Jeremy Pena of the Houston Astros, but they sure have heard about Bogaerts and his contract issues.
At some point soon Bogaerts is going to drop into the bottom half of the league when it comes to shortstop rankings, and that may have happened already.
One possible solution to this contract-wise is for the Padres to go to Bogaerts and ask for deferred money given their payroll limitations. This wouldn’t be fair to Bogaerts, but it might the best way to take some of the contract heat off him and help the Padres resolve their salary situation until the sale of the team is completed.
At some point a complete buyout is inevitable, and it may not be as far away as people think. Once Bogaerts average drops below .250 and his power numbers drop into single digits, the Padres are going to have to figure out a way to move on from this deal as their shortstop continues to drop in the league rankings.