PEORIA, Ariz. -- A year ago, hours before the San Diego Padres' first full-squad workout that spring, Xander Bogaerts was asked to go from being a lifelong shortstop to a sudden second baseman. The idea had been raised by manager Mike Shildt during a December visit to the infielder's native Aruba, but the timing of the formal request still caught Bogaerts by surprise. Soon after agreeing to the switch, he deliberately took groundballs at second base for the first time in his career.
A year later, during the Padres' first full-squad workout this spring, Bogaerts was back at shortstop. Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Boston Red Sox star third baseman Rafael Devers ignited a firestorm by telling reporters he would not move to designated hitter if his team asked him.
Bogaerts, better than most, knows how Devers is feeling -- and not just because Bogaerts underwent a position change well into a decorated career. The two men formed a close friendship during six years as Red Sox teammates.
"They got to figure it out, you know?" Bogaerts said. "(Devers is) one of the best players in the game, and obviously that's a great organization. (Alex) Cora's one of the best managers in the game. They definitely have a little difference in opinion, but they know each other really well, they've known each other for a long time, and they'll be able to find a way to come to a medium ground or something."
Bogaerts and the Padres have not known each other for quite as long. But in this, the third year of an 11-year partnership, their ability to work to mutual benefit could sway the course of San Diego's season. Bogaerts' return to his natural position figures to be temporary, but that only increases the stakes in 2025.
So far, things appear to be off to a smoother start than they were last February. Shildt and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller informed Bogaerts in a December phone call that he would again be an Opening Day shortstop. Bogaerts said Wednesday he had been mentally preparing for the move since November.
That was the same month shortstop Ha-Seong Kim declined a mutual option from San Diego and struck out into free agency. The Padres then opted not to extend qualifying offers to Kim and All-Star left fielder Jurickson Profar. Both players have since signed elsewhere.
The team's hesitancy stemmed, in part, from its existing collection of nine-figure contracts. Bogaerts' $280 million deal, after a decent first season and an injury-marred 2024, has been panned as the most burdensome, a fact the four-time All-Star is keenly aware of.
Still, Bogaerts believes he has legitimate reasons to be optimistic about his upcoming season. For one, last year's lack of offensive production -- a 92 OPS+ was Bogaerts' lowest single-season total since he was a rookie -- might have been even worse had he not fractured his left shoulder in May and spent the next several weeks sidelined.
"I did some stuff (with my swing) in the offseason last year, and I think getting hurt was probably the best thing, to be honest," Bogaerts, 32, said. "I was able to do whatever I would do in the offseason, and stop it. Because it's hard for you to do some stuff in-season. I went through a drastic change (last) offseason and ... I tried to improve, but it just wasn't working for me. Once I got hurt, I was out for a little bit, and I was able to go back to the guy that I was. But it wasn't going to happen if I didn't get hurt.
"I know my season didn't go good, but I don't regret it. I love the people that I work with, but it just wasn't for me."
Like he did last summer, Bogaerts declined to discuss the specifics of his failed swing change. But his production did improve after he came off the injured list. Before he fractured his shoulder, Bogaerts logged a .581 OPS while dealing with nagging physical ailments he partially attributed to learning a new position. After his return, he supplied a .770 OPS while playing what Shildt described as "plus-plus" defense at second base.
In September, after Kim sustained a season-ending shoulder injury, Bogaerts went back to shortstop on a then-temporary basis. At the Winter Meetings in early December, Preller said he and Shildt would give Bogaerts an earlier heads-up on his defensive assignment than they did last offseason. The requisite phone call came later that month.
"Part of that last year (was) on me," said Preller, who weighed trade offers for Kim before hanging on to the utility Gold Glove Award winner entering last season. "We were paring down some payroll, but ... you didn't want to ever tell a player and then have to pivot and change message at a later point in time. So, Xander was awesome about everything last year."
Shildt echoed that sentiment.
"That was really -- and I take responsibility for it -- similar to the conversation trying to find out what the roster looked like. There's always some moving pieces to that," Shildt said. "I thought he handled it very, very well. ... He's a complete pro's pro."
Bogaerts, for his part, was hesitant to rehash the team's handling of his switch to second base.
"You know what? I won't comment on that one because what's done is done," Bogaerts said. "I just don't really like going back and bringing up stuff that's already happened. I can't change anything. Once I found out, I started working right away at second, and we just hit a lot of bumps in the road. It was mostly physical with me. Once I got at second, the double plays is what kind of really got me physically.
"Would it have been better if you had known earlier? I mean, I think with anything if you had known earlier, it would have been better. You know, you can prepare better. You can train yourself differently. And I had no idea of that at all the whole offseason, but yeah, it's all over."
To prepare himself for a return to full-time shortstop play, Bogaerts shed 10 pounds and "ran a lot" over the winter, building up from a couple of kilometers at a time to a minimum of five or six. His offseason training came amid some uncertainty. Bogaerts heard the rumors that the Padres were discussing trading any number of players -- including potentially attaching a top prospect in attempts to move Bogaerts' contract -- although the team never approached him about the idea of waiving his full no-trade clause. He watched from afar as the front office added relatively minimal payroll in the form of creative free-agent signings.
He sought to focus instead, he said, on something he could better control.
"We didn't make the big move, but we made some solid moves, and I think health is one of the main things that will be helpful for us," Bogaerts said. "Me, I got hurt last year. (Fernando Tatis Jr.) got hurt. Manny (Machado) dealt with some injuries. Those are some of the main guys that dealt with some stuff last year. But we did lose some really special guys, special players, for sure."
The departures of such hitters as Profar, Kim and Kyle Higashioka will place a greater burden on Machado, Tatis and Bogaerts -- the Padres with the biggest contracts. Luis Arraez has declared himself unrestricted and a "problem" for opposing pitchers after recovering from thumb surgery, but the three-time batting champion can become a free agent at the end of the season. Perhaps no Padres player has more to prove than Bogaerts, who has only intermittently approached the standout production he once provided for the Red Sox.
"I just want to stay healthy, try to stay healthy, and have a really big year," Bogaerts said. "Probably hoping for one of my best years, for sure, and obviously feeling more comfortable with a great organization -- last year, also. But I'm looking forward to a new, fresh year, and all the stats are at zero."
An offseason from now, Bogaerts might be asked to return second base. That is but one future scenario. The Padres, since they signed him, have internally discussed the possibility of an eventual move to first base.
"He's been told he's our shortstop, and then we take it literally one day but definitely one year at a time," Shildt said. "But he's our shortstop, and he looks like he's ready to command that position for a while."
In 2025, at least, Bogaerts will again serve as the linchpin of the Padres' infield and arguably the biggest key to their hopes of contention.