Xander Bogaerts To Miss Significant Time in Huge Blow to Padres

A terrible break for the San Diego Padres as second baseman Xander Bogaerts will be lost to the team until late summer after suffering a fracture in his shoulder on a diving stop in the infield.

Xander Bogaerts is going to miss a large part of the season pic.twitter.com/sVYDeJYRKZ
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 22, 2024

The good news is that no ligaments were torn, and he just has to wait for the bone to heal.

A sports injury doctor explains the situation:

Xander Bogaerts injury UPDATE

X suffered a fracture in his left shoulder.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that he didn’t tear his labrum, and he doesn’t need surgery, per @sdutKevinAcee

When he dove, the labrum/ligament was stronger than the bone, and the force… https://t.co/ZaFnLzYSZm pic.twitter.com/5VrqKHdRVx
— Jesse Morse, MD (@DrJesseMorse) May 22, 2024

Per Dr. Jesse Morse, when Bogaerts dove, the labrum/ligament was stronger than the bone, so the force caused a bone to fracture. Though it's still unclear exactly which bone fractured, the good news is reportedly that the labrum is intact and the head doesn’t need surgery.

The doc suggests a return to play of 8-12 weeks is realistic; the Padres hope he is back "late summer."

In his second year with the Padres, Bogaerts is off to a slow start this season, batting just .219 with a .581 OPS and only four home runs. Adjusting to a new position at 2B from his usual shortstop may have contributed somewhat to those offensive struggles.

Fortunately for the Friars, they recently traded for two-time batting champ Luis Arraez, a second baseman most of his career, though he'd been DHing since coming over from Miami. Arraez will now slide back over to second on a permanent basis through the summer.