The San Diego Padres have not won the National League West division pennant since 2006, while the Los Angeles Dodgers have won it in 11 of the last 12 years. But this season the Padres appeared to have their best shot at overtaking their Southern California rivals, even surging into first place for three days in August, twice.
On Friday, however, the Padres saw their outlook get significantly darker when they announced that four-time All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts had been placed on the 10-day injured list with what the team described as “a non-displaced fracture in his left foot.”
The injury appears to have occurred on Wednesday in a game in Seattle against the Mariners when the 32-year-old, who signed an 11-year, $280 million free agent contract with the Padres before the 2023 season, drove a foul ball off of his left foot.
Xander Bogaerts will miss the rest of the regular season with a non-displaced fracture in his left foot, per the team, after he fouled a ball off his foot Wednesday. The Padres are hopeful he can return for the Postseason. pic.twitter.com/AKdoB1cjas
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) August 29, 2025
Though he was placed on the 10-day IL, Bogaerts appears likely to miss the remainder of the regular season, or most of it, and hopes to return for the postseason, according to a report by The Athletic.
“Couple weeks, and looking to be back, hopefully, right before the regular season ends,” Bogaerts said on Friday, as quoted by The Athletic.
While Bogaerts at the plate has had a generally mediocre season, with 10 home runs, down from 19 in his first season in San Diego, and a .717 OPS, he has also stolen a career high 20 bases and is credited with seven outs above average on defense.
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As the Padres make a push to catch the Dodgers, however, they lack a true replacement for Bogaerts.
Slick-fielding 13-year veteran Jose Iglesias appears likely to get much of the playing time that would have belonged to Bogaerts, but brings a painful .578 OPS and a minus-0.3 wins above replacement number.
The Padres recalled 30-year-old journeyman shortstop Mason McCoy from the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas to take Bogaerts’ roster spot. But McCoy, despite posting a solid .804 OPS at El Paso this season, has managed just a .468 OPS in 63 plate appearances at the big league level.
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