BOSTON — Xander Bogaerts will not play against the Red Sox this weekend but he’s here with the Padres. It’s his first trip back to Fenway Park since signing an 11-year, $280-million contract with San Diego in December 2022.
He’s on the injured list with a shoulder fracture. The Red Sox are expected to play a tribute video during Friday’s game and manager Alex Cora hopes fans will give him a standing ovation.
Bogaerts — who played against Boston last May in San Diego — was batting .219 with a .265 on-base percentage, .316 slugging percentage, .581 OPS, four homers, six doubles, 14 RBIs, 23 runs, 12 walks and 40 strikeouts in 47 games (200 plate appearances) before suffering his fracture.
“Just to have him here and just talk about how things are going, how things are going here and talk about family is always good,” Cora said Friday. “He’s a special kid. The way he handles himself, the way he goes about his business, is up there with the best of them. And I know he cares about the Red Sox. He cares about the organization. And he cares about me, which is very important for me. I’m happy that he’s here. Hopefully, people today acknowledge that and give him a big standing ovation because of what he did here since 2013 all the way to ‘22. He represents a lot — not only on the field but off the field.”
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Cora said he and the Red Sox coaching staff challenged Bogaerts to become a better hitter in 2018. The Red Sox had a “do damage” motto that season. Bogaerts was at the forefront, slugging .522 after posting a .403 slugging percentage in ‘17.
“We wanted him to be a better player,” Cora said. “He was very passive when we got here. He was settling to hit for average. And we push him to hit for power. We knew physically he was capable. It’s just approach-wise and mindset that we wanted him to change. And I think the do damage thing that we accomplished there, it was because of him and Mookie (Betts). They were very passive taking pitches, taking pitches in the heart of the plate.”
Cora said he told then-Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski that Boston hitters took too many pitches down the middle of the plate during the 2017 ALDS. He told Dombrowski that he wanted Red Sox hitters to be more aggressive.
“I think he (Bogaerts) bought into it,” Cora said. “18 was great. ‘19 was better offensively. Defensively, he did an outstanding job for us. Little by little positioning-wise, he did well understanding who he is as a defender and his limitations. I think at the end, not making errors and taking care of the baseball is something that he takes pride in. In the clubhouse, amazing. I know ‘22 was a challenge for him in a lot of aspects — physically, mentally and obviously after the trading deadline. But he is who he is. He’s a good player and he got paid. He’s a rich kid.”
