Bogaerts says shortstop prospect De Vries is 'the real deal'

This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell¡¯s Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Enter the Padres clubhouse through the hallway doors at the Peoria Sports Complex. To your immediate right? The team¡¯s present -- and possibly its future -- at shortstop.

The first locker belongs to Xander Bogaerts, who is back at his original position after a hiatus to play second base in 2024 that lasted about five months. The Padres haven¡¯t put a timeline on how long the 32-year-old Bogaerts will remain their shortstop. In December, they informed him he¡¯d be returning to shortstop for the upcoming season. The rest is open-ended.

It might depend on the guy in the locker next to Bogaerts. Certainly, it¡¯s no coincidence that 18-year-old shortstop prospect Leodalis De Vries occupies that space. In MLB Pipeline¡¯s recent unveiling of its Top 100 overall prospects, De Vries was the highest-ranked Padre at No. 18. He¡¯s in big league camp for the first time.

¡°It¡¯s been a blast,¡± De Vries said recently through interpreter Danny Sanchez. ¡°I¡¯m really grateful for the opportunity and the ability the club is giving me to learn and grow.¡±

And who better to learn from? Bogaerts himself was a highly touted shortstop prospect who broke through in the big leagues at age 20.

¡°It¡¯s very nice to see my locker next to him,¡± Bogaerts said. ¡°We share the same position, so definitely a lot of stuff I can help him with. He seems like a kid who wants to learn. ¡­ I played with him in a couple rehab games, and to me it seemed like he was the real deal. Hopefully that continues.¡±

The real deal. Bogaerts isn¡¯t the only one in the organization who thinks so. Last March, shortly after he signed with the Padres, De Vries hopped on an airplane for the very first time, bound for Arizona. A day later, he was playing in a big league intrasquad game on a Peoria back field -- and holding his own.

De Vries would go on to play 75 games at Single-A Lake Elsinore. He batted .237 with an .802 OPS. His season was impacted by injuries to each shoulder -- one at the start of the year and one at the end. But before he was shut down, De Vries was mashing, slashing .284/.407/.589 in 35 games in July and August.

To Bogaerts, it¡¯s not about those numbers. De Vries just ¡­ gets it. More than most 18-year-olds. He clearly loves the game and wants to soak up knowledge. But perhaps most importantly, De Vries is asking the right questions.

¡°Even me, I wasn¡¯t like that,¡± Bogaerts said. ¡°You¡¯re probably thinking about things like positioning, how do you turn a double play, something like that. ¡­ But he¡¯s already kind of, like, aware. He wants to know: Is our mindset different [in the Majors]? How do we deal with failure if we get to that point?¡±

De Vries¡¯ maturity is another reason so many with the Padres believe he¡¯ll be a quick mover. He generally won¡¯t dazzle with the glove. But his ceiling is that of a solid big league shortstop, and he has seriously high offensive upside as a switch-hitter.

Yes, it¡¯s possible De Vries could move off the position. Heck, two years ago, Bogaerts had another top shortstop prospect as a lockermate. Jackson Merrill is currently starting in center field.

For now, De Vries will get the chance to play shortstop with the big league club this spring. He presumably needs at least one more year of seasoning in the Minors. And then?

¡°We look forward to having those conversations if that becomes something over the next couple years,¡± general manager A.J. Preller said. ¡°If Xander plays great baseball, and young players or prospects like Leo come up and show they¡¯re big league-caliber -- we¡¯ll figure it out at that time.¡±

For now, Bogaerts isn¡¯t planning to cede shortstop again. (¡°If I keep feeling the way I am, I definitely have a few more years in me, I¡¯ll tell you that,¡± he said.) But he certainly won¡¯t play short for all nine seasons left on his contract. Which raises the possibility he¡¯d return to second, where he spent last season before Ha-Seong Kim¡¯s right shoulder injury.

That stint included two games at Lake Elsinore last July, where Bogaerts rehabbed a left shoulder injury. He played second, in tandem with De Vries at short. Was that the first look at the Padres¡¯ double-play tandem come 2027?

¡°Our focus right now is: Get Xander ready to have a big year,¡± Preller said. ¡°Go have the type of season we expect from Xander. Then, hopefully for Leo, he continues to develop. And those are all under the ¡®good-problems-to-have¡¯ [umbrella] down the road.¡±