If we couldn’t tell from the reported Trea Turner and Aaron Judge negotiations, the San Diego Padres were ready to open up their wallet for yet another big name to their lineup this offseason.
And that’s what they did late Wednesday night, signing shortstop Xander Bogaerts to a reported 11-year (!), $280 million contract for the 30-year-old.
That’s right: This is a team that now has Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr. (14 years, $340 million) and Manny Machado (10 years, $300 million). And at some point, if they want to keep Juan Soto long term, they’ll have to pay him.
WOW.
So what does this lineup look like as of Thursday morning, and when Tatis returns from suspension? Here you go:
Possible Padres lineup by midseason:
LF Fernando Tatis Jr.
RF Juan Soto
SS Xander Bogaerts
3B Manny Machado
1B Jake Cronenworth
2B Ha-Seong Kim
CF Trent Grisham
DH TBD
C Austin Nola— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 8, 2022
Gahhhhh! And DH “TBD”! Whew, this is ridiculous. This version made me laugh:
Projected Padres lineup by mid-2023:
Tatis SS
Soto LF
Bogaerts SS
Machado SS
Cronenworth SS
Kim SS
Grisham CF
Nola SS
Rosario SS— Michael Baumann (@MichaelBaumann) December 8, 2022
Seriously, though. Have fun with this one, pitchers!
