SAN DIEGO — Red Sox manager Alex Cora and his former shortstop, Xander Bogaerts , caught up Thursday over dinner.

“It’s great because now he pays for dinner,” Cora joked before Friday’s game against the Padres at Petco Park . “He has a lot of money. I tried yesterday and he’s like, ‘Nah, nah, don’t even do it.’”

Bogaerts is in the third year of an 11-year, $280 million contract with San Diego. He is batting .271 with a .340 on-base percentage, .398 slugging percentage, .737 OPS, nine home runs, 25 doubles, 40 RBIs, 51 runs, 17 steals, 45 walks and 72 strikeouts in 113 games (463 plate appearances).

“He’s happy. He loves it here,” Cora said. “They have a great team. They have a chance to make something special. A lot of veterans on that team and he’s playing well. Early on he d

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