The Pablo Sandoval-Boston Red Sox Experiment Was an Unmitigated Disaster
By Kyle Koster
The Boston Red Sox have designated scuffling third baseman Pablo Sandoval for assignment, according to multiple reports. Sandoval, who put together several fine seasons with the San Francisco Giants before coming over to the American League, is 2.5 years into a five-year, $95 million deal.
How were the Red Sox rewarded for this ransom? With a .237/.286/.360 slashline in 161 games, a far cry from the .294/.346/.465 with the Giants. Sandoval battled weight and injury issues and provided more distractions off the field than memorable moments on it. In total, he hit 14 homers and drive in 59 runs for the club and, technically, collected more hits (136) than strikeouts (101).
For now, Pablo Sandoval's contract includes the second largest sum of dead money in @MLB history, after Josh Hamilton ($68.4 million).
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 14, 2017
But it’s a problem when the big highlight of the three-year experiment is a broken belt suffered on a mighty hack.
The real winner here? The Giants, who must be so relieved Sandoval passed on their identical offer in 2014 and therefore missed out on paying handsomely for a -2.0 WAR player since.