Xander Bogaerts

San Diego Padres second baseman Xander Bogaerts is well aware that his start to the season has left a lot to be desired.Bogaerts went hitless in four at-bats in Friday's loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, dropping his OPS to .511 in 84 at-bats."I come to the ballpark, and I ain't doing my job. So, it sucks. I can tell you it sucks for me more than anyone else," Bogaerts said, according to The Athletic's Dennis Lin. "The amount that I care for this game and the amount that I care to succeed, it really sucks. And it's tough to see me go through it, but I'll keep my chin up and I'll keep going."The Padres moved Bogaerts from shortstop to second baseman ahead of the season. The 31-year-old is in the second campaign of an 11-year, $280-million contract.Bogaerts has made a career of hitting the ball to all parts of the field but has struggled to go the other way this season. He's pulling the ball 42.6% of the time and going to the opposite field 11.8%, a career low."I just can't do it at the moment," Bogaerts said of going the other way. "That's frustrating because now you only have, like, the middle and the (pull) side of the field."Bogaerts is slashing .190/.261/.250 with one home run, two doubles, and seven RBIs over 21 games this season. Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Bogaerts isn't in the Padres' lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.