The Xander Bogaerts interview
PEORIA, Ariz. - Xander Bogaerts sat comfortably at a picnic table in among the baseball activities at Padres camp, dressed ready to play. The team is different from a year ago. And so is the player. Not necessarily better or worse. Just different.
The only thing that hasn't changed are those uniforms.
"The colors are different. It's nothing close to red," Bogaerts said. "But I'm getting used to it."
With a full season in San Diego under his belt, the idea of wearing the red and white of the Red Sox seems like more and more of a foreign concept with each passing day. He is now a second baseman and established leader for the Padres. But rest assured, Bogaerts is keeping tabs on what has transpired with his old team.
And he has thoughts.
"Yeah, I am," Bogaerts said on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast when asked if he was surprised at the Red Sox' seemingly passive offseason approach.
"They’re kind of known for going out there and being one of the teams that is always in the end."
Bogaerts had witnessed the Red Sox' shock-and-awe course correction when it came to team-building during his time with the team. Rusney Castillo. David Price. Chris Sale. Yoan Moncada. Pablo Sandoval. Hanley Ramirez. The list goes on. For the majority of tenure in Boston, he knew the organization to possess a certain aggressive team-building identity.
"This," Bogaerts responds when the topic comes up, "is not it."
"I’m not talking bad about them. I’m not bashing them. When I was there it was like, ‘We’re going after the big guys.’ We always wanted to get big guys to improve the squad and always be there in the end. Even if a guy doesn’t end up signing, they are always the team that is in on the big guys. Maybe last year they didn’t do that, and maybe this year, so far … There is still time. They can still do some more."
Bogaerts can only now observe from afar, leaving a smattering players who lived that different Red Sox life back still in Boston. And it was one of those players - Rafael Devers - who recently relayed the message so many former Sox players wanted someone to day, imploring the front office to add a key piece of two to the current roster.
"No. I wouldn’t imagine him doing it," said Bogaerts when asked if he envisioned Devers taking such a stance when the two were playing together. "Coming up right away? No. But the last years with the Red Sox I could see that. He’s more mature. He knows what type of player he is. He knows what he is capable of doing. He felt very much more comfortable with himself."
Devers isn't the only one feeling more comfortable. The same can be said for Bogaerts.
Coming off a solid season with the Padres (.285 batting average, .790 OPS, 19 home runs) - which was derailed a bit in the final months due to a wrist ailment - Bogaerts is getting more and more comfortable with his new position, and lot in life as a leader in the San Diego clubhouse.
It was one thing to arrive last season, carrying an 11-year, $280 million contract. But it is something else entirely to feel like you belong. Bogaerts now feels more than ever like he belongs.
"It comes with no age, to be honest with you," he said of being a leader. "You can be old or you can be young. Don’t force it. With some guys I just feel like it comes naturally. That’s the best way to have it. It doesn’t come with age. That (17-year-old Ethan) Salas kid I tell you about. This guy is different. It looks like it’s natural to him.
"I felt like whatever I had to say last year I did. The only thing I would say that is a little different coming in is you don’t want to step on toes. That’s the only thing where, you’re not hesitant, but makes you think a couple of times before. When something needs to be said, you just say it, to the group or anyone. There is always an appropriate way to say it. You don’t need to come off like you don’t like the kid or whatever."
Bogaerts is just being Bogaerts. And for the Padres, that's plenty good enough.