Padres’ Xander Bogaerts Faces Unexpected Season-Ending Injury After Shocking Foul Ball Incident
Look, if the San Diego Padres have any shot at clinching the NL West crown this season, they’re staring down the challenge of doing so without their star shortstop, Xander Bogaerts. Yeah, you heard me right — Bogaerts just landed on the 10-day injured list with a non-displaced fracture in his left foot. The team made the announcement on Friday, calling up Triple-A’s Mason McCoy to fill the gap. Ouch.
This injury came courtesy of a fouled ball off his foot during Wednesday’s nail-biter 4-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners. He toughed it out in the game, but subsequent tests revealed the fracture that now sidelines him for the rest of the regular season. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee, we might see Bogaerts back when the postseason rolls around, but it’s going to be a wait-and-see situation. And with Jose Iglesias stepping into Bogaerts’ shoes at shortstop, San Diego faces an uphill battle as they chase the Dodgers, sitting two games ahead with that all-important tiebreaker edge. The Padres have clawed back from a hefty 8.5-game July deficit and even briefly took the lead — but now, with just a month left, things are intensely precarious.
San Diego still grips that second wild-card slot, three games clear of the third-place playoff bubble, but losing a player like Bogaerts — especially considering his June-July surge to a .292/.353/.431 stat line — is nothing short of a gut punch. Even though he was a bit of a mixed bag this season given his hefty 11-year, $280 million contract, his contributions kept the division race alive. Now, the Padres and their fans can only hold their breath, hoping for a bounce back come October. This setback adds a heavy twist to an already riveting pennant chase.
If the San Diego Padres are going to win the NL West, they’re going to have to do it without Xander Bogaerts.
The All-Star shortstop hit the 10-day injured list with a non-displaced fracture in his left foot, the team announced Friday. Triple-A infielder Mason McCoy was called up from Triple-A El Paso in a corresponding move.
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Bogaerts sustained the injury by fouling a ball off the foot in Wednesday’s 4-3 loss against the Seattle Mariners. He stayed in the game, but subsequent testing apparently revealed the fracture.
Per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale and the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee, Bogaerts is not expected to return before the end of the regular season, though he does have a chance to come back during the postseason.
With Bogaerts out, utility man Jose Iglesias is the natural choice to take over at shortstop.
Xander Bogaerts had a painful, and costly, final at-bat on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Even if he does return for the playoffs losing the 32-year-old is a tough blow for the Padres as they fight the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West. San Diego entered Friday sitting two games back behind the Dodgers, who also own the tiebreaker. Since the start of July, they have managed to erase an 8.5-game deficit and even take the division lead at a couple points, but they currently still have some work to do with a month left in the season.
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San Diego is still positioned to make the playoffs, as they hold the second wild-card spot and are three games ahead of the line for the third and final spot.
While Bogaerts so far has not lived up to his 11-year, $280 million contract, his combined .292/.353/.431 hitting in June and July helped keep the division competitive. He was slumping again before his injury, but the Padres were probably going to be fine betting on a bounce back. Now, they have to wait until at least October.
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