It seems that the San Diego Padres are "listening" to trade offers on some of their best players, including big ticket 2023 free agent signing Xander Bogaerts.
This has been a fairly quite offseason for the Padres. While the team had a very good season and won their most games since 1998 when they reached the World Series, payroll limitations are limiting their options to improve the roster.
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That is why it is unsurprising that San Diego has been linked to potential trades to move payroll. On Wednesday, veteran MLB insider Jon Heyman offered up some new intel on the recent Padres rumors during a livestream on Bleacher Report.
"They are listening [to offers] on some of their big stars," Heyman said. "On [Dylan] Cease, [Luis] Arraez, [Xander] Bogaerts. Obviously that Bogaerts deal is a little steep right now, but who knows. The contracts are moving up fast."
With the Padres open to offers for the four-time All-Star here are five teams that could pursue a trade for the 32-year-old this winter.
This offseason for the Boston Red Sox has all been about trying to fix their damaged reputation after going bargain shopping over the last few winters. They offered proof of being all in Wednesday when they made a blockbuster deal for young All-Star pitcher Garrett Crochet. Making a play to bring back a former homegrown star might curry some favor with long-time fans.
Bogaerts has not been the same player since signing a big free agent two offseasons ago with the Padres. However, he is still young enough to offer a couple of high impact seasons, and returning to the town where he was a star for 10 seasons may rejuvenate him.
The Cincinatti Reds move Jonathan India in a trade this offseason and have an opening at second base. The organization is expected to make some notable moves this winter to bolster the roster for new skipper Terry Francona. If the Padres are willing to pick up some of what's left in the final nine seasons of Bogaerts' deal, he makes sense for Cincy. Especially as a potential veteran locker room leader for Francona, a fellow Red Sox alum.
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The Seattle Mariners badly need hitting, especially at second base. While Xander Bogaerts had a down season in 2024, he would still be an upgrade over what they got from the position this past season. And if the 12 year veteran can just get back to his numbers of 2023, he would be a big addition for a weak Mariners lineup for 2025.
The Toronto Blue Jays struckout on Juan Soto this month. So clearly they have a boat load of cash to spend. But a clear difficulty in persuading free agents to come north of the border. The team knows Bogaerts well after facing him in the division for a decade. If they feel he has something left in the tank and can recapture his All-Star form, he certainly would make them a better team next season.
The San Francisco Giants want to get back to being a competitive team in a tough NL West next season. They already made a big splash by giving a record deal to Willy Adames last week. They re-signed Matt Chapman in the summer. Adding Bogaerts would give them a heck of an infield heading into 2025. The big question is would San Diego be willing to trade him within the division? If they Giants take much of his money they probably would be willing to.