Xander Bogaerts good to go after foul off foot

The 33-year-old infielder is mired in an extended slump at the plate, so giving him a day or two off to clear his head wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. Sung-Mun Song will start in his place at shortstop and will bat ninth for the Padres against Janson Junk and the Marlins on Sunday afternoon.

It’s the lowest Bogaerts has batted since 2015, according to MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell. The 33-year-old’s massive contract makes him extremely challenging to move at the upcoming deadline, but San Diego is probably going to be motivated to find a way, especially if they’re pivoting to more of a long-term reconstruction. He’s batting .194 (20-for-103) with one homer over his last 30 games and holds a career-worst .637 OPS through 95 games this season.

The context of this quote is the Padres attaching Bogaerts to closer Mason Miller being a “proposition too beneficial to pass up” for San Diego should they sell at the trade deadline. Bogaerts, 34 in December, is hitting just .224/.317/.331 this season and has slugged under .400 in each of his three years with the Padres so far. It’s probably far-fetched to believe Bogaerts has any positive trade value at this point, but if the Padres really want to move on from him, attaching Miller might be the way to do it.

Bogaerts gave the Padres an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when he sent a fastball from Shane Bieber 422 feet into deep left-center for his ninth homer of the season. Bogaerts had a chance to be the hero with two outs in the ninth inning when he stepped to the plate with runners on first and second. Unfortunately, a softly hit grounder to third ended the Padres’ hopes of a comeback. Friday marked the first homer of the month for Bogaerts, who continues to struggle at the plate. It’s still early in the month, but after a down June that saw him slash .211/.355/.237, the veteran shortstop has followed that up with a .152/.222/.303 line this month.

Sung-Mun Song gets a look at shortstop with Bogaerts taking a seat following 22 consecutive starts dating back to June 12. The 33-year-old veteran has hit .231/.321/.337 with 36 runs scored, eight homers, 33 RBI and 10 steals in 336 plate appearances through 85 games.

Bogaerts didn’t miss any starts after leaving Saturday’s game following a beaning, but he’s 0-for-10 since the incident. Of course, it might just be a coincidence. He’d previously opened June with five straight hitless games, and he’s now 4-for-37 for the month.

Bogaerts was able to shake it off initially after getting hit by a 94-mph fastball, but Sung-Mon Song then replaced him at shortstop. He’s likely day-to-day.

He should be back in the Padres lineup tonight against the Orioles. Fantasy managers in daily transaction leagues can put him back in their lineups as well.

Bogaerts will be away from the Padres for up to three days. The 33-year-old will be replaced on the roster by Will Wagner.

It appears to be just a routine recovery day for Merrill, who is hitting a rough .215/.287/.342 in his first 41 games of the season with four homers and eight stolen bases. He’ll sit against LHP Kyle Harrison and the Padres will send Bryce Johnson out in his stead in center field while bumping Xander Bogaerts further up the order.