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Bogaerts has made the most starts out of the leadoff spot through the Padres' first 10 Cactus League games and would appear to be the leading candidate to open the season atop the batting order, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Fernando Tatis (150) and Luis Arraez (11) made all but one start out of the leadoff spot for the Padres during the 2025 regular season, but San Diego will be breaking in a new table setter in 2026 with Arraez now in San Francisco and with first-year manager Craig Stammen planning to move Tatis down to the third or fourth spot. Bogaerts primarily slotted somewhere between fourth and sixth in the lineup last season, but as a high-contact hitter with good speed on the bases, he should make for a logical choice to lead off. However, with Bogaerts away from the team until at least March 12 while he participates in the World Baseball Classic, Stammen will experiment with other options atop the order during Cactus League play. Jake Cronenworth will bat leadoff in Monday's game against the Athletics and could represent the top fallback option to Bogaerts once the season gets underway.
Bogaerts went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 5-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
Bogaerts launched a 424-foot homer off Eduardo Rodriguez in the first inning, his first extra-base hit since coming off the injured list Tuesday. The veteran shortstop has hit safely in three of four games since rejoining the Padres, going 4-for-16 in that span. He's slashing .262/.328/.389 with 11 home runs, 51 RBI, 62 runs scored and 20 steals across 550 plate appearances and appears healthy as the club gears up for the postseason.
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