SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres are absolutely blowing everyone’s minds.
They play in the 27th-smallest market in baseball.
They are trapped by the Pacific Ocean to the West, the desert to the East, Mexico to the South and Los Angeles to the north.
And yet, they are spending money wilder than anyone can possibly imagine, sending shock waves throughout the sport.
They signed shortstop Xander Bogaerts to a stunning 11-year, $280 million contract, including a no-trade clause, late Wednesday evening as the winter meetings ended. They paid a $120 million more than the Boston Red Sox’s final six-year, $160 million offer to keep him.
This is a team that offered free agent shortstop Trea Turner $342 million over 11 years on Monday, only to be snubbed when he took an 11-year, $300 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.
This is a team that informally offered free agent outfielder Aaron Judge a 10-year, $400 million contract on Tuesday, only for Judge to sign a 9-year, $360 million deal to return to the New York Yankees.
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They weren’t about to be left at the altar again, signing Bogaerts, despite already having Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ha-Seong Kim at shortstop. So now they have Bogaerts playing shortstop, and two shortstops playing out of position with Tatis moving to the outfield and Kim to second base.
If it backfires, hey, it’s only money, right?
“We’ve got a real desire to win,’’ Padres GM A.J. Preller said, “and do it for a long time.’’
The Padres have become the National League’s version of the old George Steinbrenner Yankees, with a franchise record payroll exceeding $235 million and counting, and they still owe Red Sox first baseman Eric Hosmer $12 million a year.
Sure, the Bogaerts contract gives them protection in case All-Star third baseman Manny Machado opts out of the remaining five years and $150 million in his contract.
Well, considering the Padres’ spending habits, would anyone be surprised if they doubled it?
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