Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts has no idea whether there’s going to be an MLB season—he’s as in the dark about it as you are. For a little more than a month, he’s been at home in Aruba, attempting to maintain a semblance of a workout routine while also tossing baseballs around with his twin brother, Jair.

Whenever the MLB does relaunch, Bogaerts will have the opportunity to build on his career year from 2019, when he hit 33 homers, drove in 117 runs, pieced together a .309 batting average, and qualified for his second All-Star game. And whenever the MLB relaunches, Bogaerts’ Red Sox will have more to prove, after an investigation recently concluded that they—like the Houston Astros—stole signs. (The Astros’ litany of offenses, according to the MLB, were much more severe—no Red Sox players have been directly implicated.)

In an interview with GQ last week, Bogaerts described the steps Aruba has taken to combat COVID-19, broke down the bare-bones routine he’s keeping for the time being, and he weighed in on the idea of all 30 MLB teams playing their games in one city.

GQ: What is the situation like in Aruba?Xander Bogaerts: It’s not as bad because we don’t have so many people, but they’ve locked down almost everything. You’ve got to be home at 9 p.m. If the cops see you on the road, they pick you up. There are strict guidelines.

What does an average day look like for you right now?I don’t wake up at 8 a.m. doing workouts no more because we don’t have a timetable for returning. I usually wake up and go to my PlayStation right away, playing lots of FIFA and Fortnite. Then I have breakfast, maybe some eggs or cereal, and do a workout afterwards in the afternoon. I don’t have much to do. If it’s not a workout or PlayStation, I’m playing dominoes with my buddies. Here in Aruba, they want you to social distance, so no more than four people in a group.

Are you better at FIFA or dominoes?Wow bro, I’ve never had that question before...I’d have to go with FIFA. That’s a good question man, believe me.

What kind of workouts are you doing right now?I’m just trying to maintain. Not a ton of weightlifting. The Red Sox sent me some equipment recently, and I was doing body weight before that. I’ve been following the workouts the Red Sox have been giving us. I have a twin brother, and we both play baseball, so I try to throw with him every day. I don’t want to have to ramp that back up later. We throw before or after my workout.

This is a crazy time and we don’t know if we’re even going to have a season. I don’t want to be the one who’s not doing anything, and then they tell you the season is starting and I’m so far behind. It’s really tough mentally to try and stay in shape.

Michael Ivins/Boston Red Sox

Are you doing beach workouts?I like the beach, but in Aruba, you can only go if it’s for workouts. No one can go to chill. Makes the beach a little more boring. But I do some running drills that strengthen your legs and lower body.

Have you been watching anything lately to pass the time?I just watched a documentary on Pablo Escobar, I watched Money Heist, and I saw that movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger about eating plant-based.

Oh yeah, The Game Changers. Do you eat a plant-based diet?No, no, no. But I was surprised that these guys still have so much energy, or even more energy, without eating meat. It was kind of crazy to hear. Lately I’ve been eating a lot of rice and chicken, ribs, and home-cooked meals that I don’t get to eat during the season. During the season I only cook for myself on the off-days. I can make a good curry chicken. I’m actually going to eat it now, but my mom made this one.

Is the curry chicken your cheat meal?No, I like french fries, man. I don’t know what my obsession with them is, but that’s it. Not a huge dipping sauce guy, though. Maybe just ketchup.

During the season, when the team provides many of your meals, what does your diet typically look like?I definitely eat a lot of eggs in the morning, drink some coffee or tea, and then once you’re at the stadium, they have everything you need. They’re trying to keep us healthy. I’ll have a ham-and-cheese sandwich after workouts, and then usually have a protein shake before a game as a snack. Dinner is pretty late at night.

You had a career year last season, with a big uptick in homers. Were there any changes you made to your workouts or diet to achieve that?Not really, I’m eating the same stuff. I think it’s just more experience, and the year prior, we had some coaching changes that helped unpack some stuff that I had hidden. It made me become a much better player. All of my hitting coaches have had good, different philosophies, but this one kind of took me to another level.

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Where’s your head at about a baseball season happening? Are you feeling hopeful or pessimistic?I want to play for sure, but it’s such a tough time and I know we’re dealing with a very serious situation. To be honest, it’s hard to do workouts because you’re like, are we even going to play? In the off-season, you work out and look forward to February reporting day. You know you have to be ready for that specific day. Now, you don’t have anything like that. We’ll have to wait and see when the experts say it’s the right time to play.

Are you open to the idea of all MLB games being played one city, as has been suggested?I saw that—something in Arizona? I’ve been away from my family for all the years I’ve been playing baseball, but [playing all games in one city] would be tougher on the American guys who’ve never experienced it. The guys from the Latin countries are more used to that. But that’s going to be hard. I don’t know how they would do that.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarityReal-Life Diet is a series in which GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and everyone in-between about their diets and exercise routines: what's worked, what hasn't, and where they're still improving. Keep in mind, what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.

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