The Padres Give Us A Sign

A new second baseman leads by example

It’s a short walk.

For the sake of consistency and calibration, let’s call it 90 feet. Ultimately, though, the direction is more important than exact distance anyway.

On Friday, Xander Bogaerts agreed to walk 90 feet to his left. Signed as a free-agent shortstop by the Padres to an 11-year, $280 million contract just last offseason, Bogaerts’ willingness to cede his position to Ha-Seong Kim signals an encouraging shift in team identity. San Diego’s newly anointed second baseman displayed an act of team over self.

Bogaerts last played a position other than shortstop on July 30, 2014. (In that game, current Chief Baseball Officer of the Red Sox, Craig Breslow, threw one inning in relief. A lot can change in 10 years.) Bogaerts was 21 back then. Sliding over to third base to accommodate Stephen Drew wasn’t breaking news, nor was it likely to impact the emerging All-Star’s ego.

For a Padres team that didn’t win an extra-inning game until the final week of the season last year and went 9-23 in…