The San Diego Padres are counting on Xander Bogaerts to hold down the shortstop position in 2026, but recent history says he won’t be out there every day. Injuries have sidelined him for long stretches in each of the past two years, and he’ll be playing his age-33 season this year. Those are troubling signs for a player who’s entering Year 4 of an 11-year, $280 million contract. 

Utility man Mason McCoy and second baseman Jake Cronenworth are next on the depth chart, but each player has his drawbacks. McCoy is a glove-first infielder with a .494 OPS in 84 career plate appearances, while Cronenworth was regularly replaced for defense late in games when he filled in for Bogaerts last year. Sung-mun Song will also factor into the equation eventually, but he’ll open the season on the injured list while tending to a lingering oblique strain.

Here’s how the position looks heading into Opening Day:

Padres Shortstops At A Glance

Starter: Xander Bogaerts
Backup: Jake Cronenworth, Sung Mun Song
Depth: Mason McCoy
Prospects: Francisco Acuna, Ryan Jackson

Padres’ fWAR Ranking Last Year: 16th out of 30
Padres’ fWAR Projection This Year: 16th out of 30

The Good

Bogaerts remains a plus defender according to the metrics. Statcast put him in the 93rd percentile in outs above average (OAA) and the 87th percentile in fielding run value last year. Both marks were, by far, career highs. Statcast’s plus-7 run value was also a career best.

His offense was not very exciting, but he remained a solid contact hitter, with a 17.0 percent K rate (76th percentile). His 89.0 mph average exit velocity and 11.1-degree launch angle were both his highest since 2021, and his 39.2 percent hard-hit rate was his highest since 2022. Those peripherals contributed to a .267 xBA, his highest since ’21. He handled certain off-speed and breaking pitches well, posting a plus-8 run value against sliders and a plus-6 run value against changeups. 

Interestingly, Bogaerts has put speed back to his game in his 30s. Last year, he set a career high with 20 stolen bases and was caught just twice. He has posted double-digit steals in each of his first three seasons with the Padres.

The Bad

Bogaerts’ offensive prime with the Boston Red Sox is a distant memory. Last year, he put up a pedestrian 104 wRC+ and .720 OPS in 552 plate appearances. He was the least effective against fastballs, even though his whiff rates against them were better than his career norms. He registered a minus-9 run value against four-seamers and a minus-10 run value against sinkers. Not so coincidentally, his bat speed was in the 50th percentile.

There was also a further decline in durability. Last year, he missed almost a month in August and September with a foot fracture. In 2024, he was out from mid-May to late July with a left shoulder fracture he suffered while diving for a ball. He has appeared in 136 and 111 games, respectively, the past two seasons. 

There isn’t much at the position in the upper levels of the farm system. Francisco Acuna, 26, posted a 1.119 OPS with two homers in 12 games at Triple-A El Paso last season, but just a .706 OPS in 109 games at Double-A San Antonio. Ryan Jackson, 24, played at three levels last year in his first full pro season, getting as high as Double-A. He produced a .494 OPS in 19 games for San Antonio. The Padres took him in the 17th round of the 2024 MLB Draft.

The return of Song will be key to the entire infield picture, but he’ll also have to displace someone (likely Ty France) on the active roster when he returns, limiting depth elsewhere on the roster.

The Bottom Line

Bogaerts will be the starter if healthy — a big if after the injuries. If Song remains out or limited by his oblique, San Diego could stand to add a backup who would be an upgrade over McCoy.

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