Padres receive positive Xander Bogaerts injury update
originally appeared on The Sporting News
The San Diego Padres got some good news regarding shortstop Xander Bogaerts on Wednesday, as he is now cleared to resume baseball activities, per Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Bogaerts has been out since late-August with a foot fracture, and it seems that him returning to the field before the season’s end is a realistic scenario after all. The Padres could use the boost in the lineup, as they’ve been using light-hitting shortstop Jose Iglesias in his absence.
This year the 35-year-old Iglesias is hitting just .223 with one home run, 30 RBIs, and a porous .563 OPS. Luckily for the Padres, they’ll be back at full strength soon.
On the season, Bogaerts is hitting .262 with 10 home runs and a .717 OPS. He’s in the third year of a massive 11-year contract that he signed with the Padres before the 2023 season. While he isn’t the same hitter he once was with the Boston Red Sox, he can still provide production in a deep Padres lineup.
Despite his underwhelming numbers this season, Bogaerts had been better of late prior to the injury. His resurgence has helped push the Padres to the second Wild Card spot in the NL, and just 2.5 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West. With Bogaerts making a return to the lineup soon, the hope is that he can pick up where he left off prior to his injury, and help push the Padres into a deep postseason run.