Padres Seem to Be Honing In on a Xander Bogaerts Replacement at Second Base

Will this make a difference for the team?

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Just one day after San Diego Padres second baseman Xander Bogaerts went down with a shoulder fracture, prospect Graham Pauley started his first game at second for Triple-A El Paso.

Bogaerts is expected to miss about two months, so Pauley’s action at a new position on Thursday was noteworthy. However, the position isn’t new to the prospect who started 35 games there over the previous two seasons in the minors.

Graham Pauley at second base.

He has 35 starts there in the minors but his first this year.

Seems timely. https://t.co/bpp5PijRn0

— Jeff Sanders (@sdutSanders) May 23, 2024

Pauley has seen action all over the infield this season, but if he wants to see the infield for the Padres over the next eight weeks, he has to swing a big bat. That was his downfall when the rookie was optioned to Triple-A on April 9 after breaking camp with the big league club. He was recalled on April 20 and optioned again on May 4.

For some reason, his offense isn’t carrying over from the minors to the majors. In 32 big league at-bats, he only has four hits. Two of them are home runs and he has five RBIs but in Triple-A, he has 20 hits in 79 at-bats with four homers and 19 RBIs.

He recently showed signs of life with a six-game hitting streak that ended on Wednesday. Through 15 games in May, he’s hitting .229 with four doubles, eight RBIs, and 14 walks.