Xander Bogaerts on his Fenway Park return: In late 2022, Xander Bogaerts opted to leave the Red Sox in free agency for an 11-year, $280 million deal with the Padres. It represented a major loss for Boston, as the infielder had been a key contributor on multiple World Series-winning teams.

For the first time since leaving the Red Sox, Bogaerts is set to be back at Fenway Park for a three-game series against his old team. Of course, due to a shoulder injury that’s landed him on the injured, the 31-year-old won’t play. Yet it will still be a big moment for the four-time All-Star.

“When I go, it should be good. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be nice, why it wouldn’t be special,” Bogaerts told Alex Speier of The Boston Globe in comments from earlier this year in April.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he continued. “I think about it at some times. Listen, I was there a long time — in …