| Xander Bogaerts | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bogaerts with theSan Diego Padres in 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| San Diego Padres – No. 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Shortstop /Second baseman | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1992-10-01)October 1, 1992 (age 33) San Nicolaas, Aruba[1] | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| August 20, 2013, for the Boston Red Sox | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through 2025 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .287 | ||||||||||||||
| Hits | 1,822 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 197 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 838 | ||||||||||||||
| Stolen bases | 126 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
Xander Jan Bogaerts (born October 1, 1992;Papiamento pronunciation:[ˈsandərˈboxarts]) is an Aruban professionalbaseballshortstop andsecond baseman[2] for theSan Diego Padres ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for theBoston Red Sox. He represents theNetherlands national team in international competition.
After being signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox in 2009, Bogaerts made his MLB debut in2013, appearing in 30 games between the regular season and postseason, and helping the Red Sox to theWorld Series championship. He became the Red Sox' starting shortstop in 2014 and later won his second World Series in2018. He is a five-time winner of theAmerican League'sSilver Slugger Award, as well as a four-timeAll-Star. He has the most games played at shortstop for the Red Sox, having set the record in 2022. After 10 seasons with Boston, Bogaerts signed an 11-year deal with the Padres following the 2022 season.
Bogaerts was noticed in 2009, at the age of 16, by Mike Lord, ascout for theBoston Red Sox. After not playing baseball for two weeks due to thechicken pox, Bogaerts played for Lord, who recommended him toCraig Shipley, the Red Sox' vice president of international scouting. Shipley flew toAruba to watch Bogaerts play. The Red Sox signed him to a contract with a $410,000signing bonus.[3]
Bogaerts made his professional debut in 2010 in theDominican Summer League (DSL), where he had a .314batting average, .396on-base percentage, and .423slugging percentage. He led theDSL Red Sox in each of those categories, along withhits (75),home runs (3),runs batted in (RBIs; 42), and total bases (101). He was fifth in the DSL in RBIs and tenth in total bases, and he had a .929fielding percentage. The next year, at age 18, Bogaerts played for theGreenville Drive of theClass ASouth Atlantic League, where he had aslash line of .260/.324/.509, fielded .924, and hit 16 home runs in 72 games.
During the 2012 season, Bogaerts started out in Class A and ended up playing with thePortland Sea Dogs of theClass AAEastern League.[4] He was named to appear in the 2012All-Star Futures Game.[5] Heading into the 2013 season, Bogaerts ranked sixth in theMLB.com Top 100 Prospects list,[6] eighth in theBaseball America Top 100 Prospects list,[7] and was ranked the fifth-best prospect byESPN'sKeith Law, who described him as "Still just 20 years old, Bogaerts has been playing solid shortstop for Portland with a solid walk rate but isn't yet generating the power expected from his explosive swing."[8]
Bogaerts started the season with Portland and was promoted to thePawtucket Red Sox of theTriple-AInternational League in mid-June.[9] The Red Sox promoted Bogaerts to the major leagues on August 19.[10] Bogaerts made hisMLB debut on August 20 against theSan Francisco Giants. He got his first major league hit five days later against theLos Angeles Dodgers. On September 7, Bogaerts hit his first MLB home run againstNew York Yankees pitcherJim Miller.[11] At the end of the 2013 minor league season, Bogaerts gainedUSA Today Minor League Player of the Year honors[12] and was named to theBaseball America Minor League All-Star Team. During his brief stint in the majors in 2013, Bogaerts appeared in 18 games batting .250 with a home run, five RBIs, and a stolen base.[13]
Despite debuting late in the season, Bogaerts was part of the 25-man active roster during the postseason run. Bogaerts had a strong performance in the postseason, batting .296 with two RBIs in 12 games, eventually leading to the Red Soxwinning their eighth World Series in franchise history.[14]
Bogaerts began the 2014 season as the starting shortstop for Boston. On May 29, he had his first walk-offplate appearance on a throwing error byAtlanta Braves third basemanChris Johnson, allowing teammateJackie Bradley Jr. to score.[15] On June 2, the Red Sox re-signedStephen Drew, and Bogaerts was moved back to third base. Bogaerts returned to shortstop once again when the Red Sox sent Drew to the rivalNew York Yankees at the trade deadline on July 31. For the season, Bogaerts played 99 games at shortstop and 44 games at third base, while batting .240 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs.
In 2015, Bogaerts led the Red Sox with a career-high .320 average (along with seven home runs and 81 RBIs), finishing second only toMiguel Cabrera for theAmerican League (AL)batting title. From late July, Bogaerts began to bat second or third exclusively.[16] He had 10 hits with the bases loaded, the most in MLB for 2015.[17] He received the AL'sSilver Slugger Award for shortstop.[18] On top of his breakout offense, Bogaerts was also a finalist for theRawlings Gold Glove Award at shortstop.
In 2016, Bogaerts again began the season as the Red Sox' starting shortstop, primarily batting third.[19] Between May 6 and June 2, Bogaerts hit safely in 26 consecutive games. Hishitting streak came to an end in a loss to theToronto Blue Jays on June 3.[20] He was chosen to play in theMLB All-Star Game, the first of his career; he started at shortstop and went 1-for-2.[21] Bogaerts finished the season batting .294 with 21 home runs and 89 RBIs and once again won the AL's shortstop Silver Slugger Award.[22]
Bogaerts became eligible forsalary arbitration in 2017. He and the Red Sox avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a $4.5 million salary for the season.[23] In 2017, Bogaerts usually hit in the sixth spot in the batting order. On July 6, he was hit on the right wrist by a pitch fromJacob Faria of theTampa Bay Rays.[24] It was later diagnosed as a sprained joint. Despite this, Bogaerts declined to go on thedisabled list and played while injured for the rest of the season. He later admitted this was a mistake, stating that he went through a two-month stretch in which he could not swing comfortably.[25] As a result, he finished the season batting .273 with just 10 home runs and 62 RBIs.
Bogaerts and the Red Sox agreed to a $7.05 million salary for the 2018 season.[26] He began the season usually batting fifth in the lineup. He hit twogrand slams in April; one on April 7 against theTampa Bay Rays,[27] and one on April 30 against theKansas City Royals.[28] Bogaerts was namedAL Player of the Week for the week of July 2–8.[29] He hit another grand slam on July 14, this one an extra-inningswalk-off home run against theToronto Blue Jays.[30] For the regular season, Bogaerts had 23 home runs, 103 RBIs, and a .288 average. The Red Sox finished the year 108–54 and won theWorld Series over theLos Angeles Dodgers.[31] Bogaerts was the only player on the Red Sox roster for both the 2013 and 2018 World Series.
The Red Sox and Bogaerts came to terms on a $12 million salary for the 2019 season in January.[32] On April 1, the Red Sox announced that they signed Bogaerts to a six-year contract extension worth $132 million; the deal included an opt-out clause that Bogaerts could exercise after the 2022 season, which he later did.[33][34] On July 3, MLB announced that Bogaerts had been selected for theAll-Star Game.[35] On September 7, Bogaerts registered his 1,000th MLB career hit, in a game against the Yankees.[36] Bogaerts finished the season with a .309 average, 52 doubles, 33 home runs and 117 RBIs (second in the American League).[37] He finished fifth inAL MVP voting[38] and won his third Silver Slugger Award.[39]
During theshortened 2020 season, Bogaerts was again Boston's primary shortstop. On August 2 against the Yankees, he had four hits with two homers and three RBIs. Bogaerts had two multi-steal games–on September 12 against the Rays and on September 18 against the Yankees. He finished the season with a 10-game hitting streak and 18-game on-base streak. Overall with theRed Sox, he batted .300 with 11 home runs, 28 RBIs, and 8 stolen bases in 56 games.[37] Bogaerts led all AL shortstops in home runs and RBIs and was second in runs, total bases, on-base percentage, slugging, and OPS.[40]
Bogaerts returned as Boston's primary shortstop in 2021. On July 1, he was named the AL starting shortstop for theAll-Star Game.[41] On August 31, Bogaerts was removed from a game in Tampa Bay due to a positiveCOVID-19 test.[42] He returned to the lineup on September 10.[43] Bogaerts played in 144 games during the regular season for Boston, batting .295 with 23 home runs and 79 RBIs.[37] He also appeared in 11 postseason games, batting 12-for-46 (.261) as the Red Sox advanced to theAL Championship Series.[37] On November 11, Bogaerts was announced as the AL recipient of the Silver Slugger Award for shortstops, his fourth time winning the award.[44]
In 2022, Bogaerts again served as the primary shortstop for the Red Sox. On July 10, he was named to the AL roster for theAll-Star Game as a reserve selection.[45] On September 6, he was namedAL Player of the Week after batting 15-for-31 in seven games.[46] For the season, Bogaerts batted .307 with 15 home runs and 73 RBIs in 150 games.[37] He was again nominated for a Gold Glove Award[47] and the All-MLB Team[48] and won his fifth Silver Slugger Award.[49]
On November 7, Bogaerts opted out of his Red Sox contract and became afree agent.[34]
On December 9, 2022, Bogaerts signed an 11-year, $280 million contract with theSan Diego Padres.[50]
On April 29, 2023, Bogaerts hit a home run in theMLB Mexico City Series, becoming the first player in MLB history to hit home runs in four different countries: theUnited States,Canada, theUnited Kingdom, andMexico.[51]
Entering the 2024 season, Bogaerts was moved to second base, andHa-seong Kim was moved to shortstop.[52] On May 20, Bogaerts fractured his left shoulder while attempting a diving play on a ball hit byRonald Acuña Jr. He was placed on the 10-day injury list on May 22, (retroactive to May 21).[53]
For the 2025 season, Bogaerts play mainly at shortstop because Kim became a free agent. On August 27, Bogarts fractured his left foot when he fouled a ball off his foot against theSeattle Mariners. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 29.[54] He return from the injured list on September 23.[55] For the season, Bogaerts batted .263 with 11 home runs and 53 RBIs in 136 games.[37]
As a citizen of Aruba, aconstituent country ofthe Netherlands, Bogaerts played for theDutch national team in the2011 Baseball World Cup (which the team won),[56] the2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC),[57] and the2017 WBC.[58] In the 2017 tournament, Bogaerts slashed .227/.419/.318, with five hits in 22 at-bats. He led the team with seven walks.[59]
Bogaerts returned to the Dutch team at the2023 WBC. He slashed .267/.353/.533 in 15 at-bats over four games of pool play.[60] However, Pool A ended in a five-way tie, with all five teams finishing with 2–2 records, and the Netherlands was eliminated bytiebreaker.[61]
Bogaerts has committed to play for the Netherlands in the2026 World Baseball Classic in Miami in March 2026.[62]
Bogaerts has a twin brother named Jair[63] who also signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent. He was sent to theChicago Cubs prior to the 2012 season to complete the compensation regardingTheo Epstein, but did not play in affiliated baseball again.[63][64] Their uncle taught them to play baseball.[65]
Bogaerts is the fifth Aruban to play in MLB, followingSidney Ponson,Calvin Maduro,Gene Kingsale, andRadhames Dykhoff. In 2011, after winning the gold medal in the Baseball World Cup, Bogaerts was inducted into the KnightsOrder of Orange-Nassau by theGovernor of Aruba.[56][66]
Bogaerts speaks four languages:English,Spanish,Dutch, andPapiamento, the latter two being Aruba's official languages.[67] On February 10, 2021, the Commandeur Pieter Boer School inSan Nicolas, Aruba, changed its name and became Scol Basico Xander Bogaerts.[68]
· Baseball Almanac, orRetrosheet
