Padres News: Xander Bogaerts Admits First Season in San Diego Has Been a Grind So Far

Can he turn things around?

Anytime a player makes the decision to leave a team for another in free agency, there are some growing pains. Even if they are minor, any kind of change can throw someone off. This is one part of players switching teams constantly that seems to fall by the wayside but it’s an important factor.

For San Diego Padres new shortstop Xander Bogaerts, it has been a difficult adjustment this season as he made the decision to leave the Boston Red Sox to come to Southern California in free agent.

Bogaerts isn’t the only player on the Padres that has started the year off slow as the entire team has been a letdown so far. But he hasn’t looked the part of the player that the Padres signed for a massive contract in the offseason. The team believed that he was the missing piece to fully unlock the offense of the Padres but so far, it has been a tough grind for the team and the shortstop. He opened up about the struggles that he has faced so far in San Diego.

“It’s frustrating man, for sure. There’s been frustrating at-bats for me, personally. It’s unlike yourself. It’s tough. Some days, you feel like nothing goes your way as a team. I know for sure that once we get in September, we’re going to look back and be like, man, those (earlier) games would’ve been huge. What sucks (is) you can’t go back in time and change those results.”

Per The SD Union-Tribune

On the year, Bogaerts is hitting .253 with 10 home runs and 35 runs batted in. It’s not a bad year for him but definitely not up to the standard that he has set for himself. He hasn’t been able to form any sense of consistency this season and it has frustrated him.

“On a personal level, I haven’t played the way I want to play. It sucks and it’s frustrating, not being able to help the team the way you want to.

Per The SD Union-Tribune

As the team entered the All-Star break, they were playing much better baseball. They had won five of six games, but Bogaerts is still having trouble at the plate. He is hoping that the extra rest and time off from the All-Star break will help benefit his game and help get him back on track.

“I normally wake up and feel like I’ve got two hits, easy. Now it’s grinding for it, just trying to get on base and help the team win. It’s been very frustrating. Hopefully, I benefit from the break.



Per The SD Union-Tribune

The Padres have 72 games left to turn things around otherwise this season will go down as a lost season. For a team that entered the year with World Series aspirations, they haven’t played up to par. But there is still time left and both Bogaerts and the Padres need to turn things around quickly.