When the San Diego Padres landed Xander Bogaerts and signed him to an 11-year, $280 million deal, the hope was for the shortstop to be one of the best players in Major League Baseball.
A four-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion, five-time Silver Slugger, and more throughout his career, Bogaerts hasn't lived up to the hype in San Diego.
Since coming to San Diego, he's yet to post an OPS+ above 117, and currently owns an OPS+ of 73 this season.
Some think the Padres could be growing frustrated with his play.
When searching for potential trade options around Major League Baseball, Bleacher Report recently predicted that he could be traded to the Detroit Tigers, arguably the best team in the American League.
“The Padres were reportedly open to trading Xander Bogaerts during the offseason and, honestly, who can blame them?...
“Apropos of that last note, the Tigers have the best record in baseball and pretty much have the AL Central title all sewn up. If they really want to go far, though, they're going to need a shortstop. The position has produced a paltry 0.4 rWAR, not to mention -3 Outs Above Average. Bogaerts could at least help with the latter, as he's been a consistently above average defender at shortstop ever since 2022,” they wrote.
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Bogaerts getting a change of scenery and figuring it out with the Tigers wouldn't be a surprise, but there's also not much of a reason for Detroit to take on his contract, which runs through 2033.
The Tigers haven’t shown the willingness to spend money in recent years, so adding another aging shortstop like they did with Javier Baez just doesn't seem to be the right decision.