Xander Bogaerts is going back to a familiar place.
The San Diego Padres star return to the shortstop position for the 2025 MLB season, manager Mike Shildt confirmed during the annual fan fest.
The decision comes after Ha-Seong Kim signed with the Tampa Bay Rays this offseason.
“Once it looked like Kimmy was not going to be able to come back … the way the team was getting built, it looked like it was an opportunity for Bogey to play short,” Shildt told those in attendance, per MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. “So I had a great conversation with Bogey probably a month ago. He had already had his head around wanting (it) and training to go back and play shortstop. He was very enthusiastic about it.”
Bogaerts played second base last season for San Diego after moving from shortstop in 2023 where he committed eight errors in his first 146 games.
Bogaerts spent his first nine MLB seasons with the Boston Red Sox and became a fixture at shortstop before he signed with the Padres after the 2022 season.
The Padres turned to Bogaerts to play shortstop late in the regular season after Kim suffered a shoulder injury that ended his season.
Bogaerts will enter 2025 looking to bounce back from a career-worst 2024 where he slashed .264/.307/.381 in 111 games. The 32-year-old fractured his shoulder early in the season, but began to to find his groove after he was activated from the injured list.
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