The San Diego Padres find themselves locked in a tight race with the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the National League West division as the regular season approaches its final month. Despite this intense competition, much of the team’s attention has shifted toward ensuring the health and readiness of their key players ahead of the postseason. While the Padres currently have many of their important contributors back in the lineup, they continue to await the return of their starting shortstop, Xander Bogaerts.
Bogaerts has been sidelined due to a foot injury sustained on August 27, when he fouled a ball off his foot, resulting in a broken bone. This injury has kept him out of the lineup for several games now, and though it is expected that he will miss a significant amount of time, the Padres remain optimistic that he will be ready to rejoin the team in time for the playoffs. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the club views Bogaerts’ absence as a major setback, but they anticipate his recovery aligning with the postseason schedule.
Nightengale reported that the Padres suffered a serious loss when Bogaerts, a seasoned veteran at the shortstop position, fractured a bone in his left foot after fouling off a pitch. However, the team believes that Bogaerts will be able to return just before the postseason begins. Prior to his injury, Bogaerts had been a consistent presence in the Padres’ lineup, appearing in nearly every game except three, and had been performing at a high level, batting .303 with an impressive .835 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) since June 19.
With Bogaerts sidelined, the Padres are without their everyday shortstop for the majority of the remaining regular-season games as they push toward the playoffs. Fortunately, the team has options available at the shortstop position to fill the gap during this critical stretch.
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