The San Diego Padres’ 2023 season can be summarized in one word: “TaeSanMyeongDong SeoilPil.
Before the season, San Diego manager Bob Melvin squealed with happiness that he had no idea what to do with the batting order. The Dodgers had a stellar lineup of Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr, Ha Sung Kim, and Jake Cronenweth. Add to that the veteran Nelson Cruz.
But San Diego’s brass had forgotten the old saying, “You need a string of marbles to make a pearl.
Before the season, the Padres were in desperate need of first base depth. So they approached Bogart, a lifelong shortstop, about playing first base. Bogaerts flatly refused.
The Dodgers had no choice but to give Bogart the shortstop job and send Ha-Sung Kim to second base, while moving Cronenwirth, who was playing second base, to first base.
As it turned out, it was a handshake. Only Kim got what he deserved, but Bogaerts and Kronenwirth didn’t get what they deserved. Bogaerts signed for 11 years and $280 million, and Cronenwirth signed a seven-year, $80 million extension.
The theory is that San Diego wanted to have an infield of Machado at third base, Kim Ha-Sung at shortstop, Cronenwirth at second base, and Bogaerts at first base, but Bogaerts’ “stubbornness” ultimately prevented them from reaching fall ball this season.토토사이트
Of course, it’s possible that Bogaerts would have performed worse at first base.
However, the fact that the Padres are considering moving Bogart to first base next year and returning Ha-Sung Kim to shortstop and Cronenweth to second base suggests that the experiment with Bogart in the infield was a failure.
San Diego has also struggled at designated hitter all season. They’ve tried Cruz, Matt Carpenter, and Choi Ji-Man, among others, without success.
As a result, the Padres will need to address both infield traffic and the need for a designated hitter heading into next season.
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