Pablo Sandoval may be running out of time to claim third-base job
CHICAGO — Pablo Sandoval may be back with the Red Sox, but the leash is clearly shortening for the third baseman.
You didn't have to read between the lines from president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and manager John Farrell at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on Tuesday. The Red Sox have two months to decide whether the man they want starting at third in a pennant race is inside their organization or not. Sandoval has the first crack at it, but it might be his last shot.
"In spring training, we felt absolutely great about the situation. Early in the season, he ended up playing so-so, I guess is the way to describe it," said Dombrowski. "You're looking for more than what he showed from an offensive perspective…. We saw a lot of positive signs, but now we're in a situation, you need to see it on a consistent basis. We think he can do it. But now he's got to go out and do it for us."
"It's almost an incomplete assessment," Farrell said of the 17 games Sandoval played prior to suffering the knee injury that has sidelined him since April 24. "It's a small snapshot for someone who missed pretty much all of last year."
The main concern for Sandoval appears to be whether he can handle the position defensively. Even after slimming down and looking lighter on his feet in spring training, he still showed subpar range in April — not to mention the four errors he committed. That’s before suffering a knee injury that he's now coming back from earlier than anticipated.
(Boston's initial plans called for Sandoval to spend at least one more series with Triple-A Pawtucket this week. That changed when Dustin Pedroia hit the disabled list on Tuesday, leaving the Sox with no other infielder on the 40-man roster to call up.)
It took Boston three tries to find someone defensively competent to replace Sandoval, but Deven Marrero has emerged as that figure. To steal the verb Farrell has used frequently over the last fortnight, Marrero has "stabilized" the infield defense with his stellar play at third.
That’s why Farrell suggested on Tuesday that Sandoval's playing time wasn't fully determined yet, since he wanted to speak with the third baseman about his role and his defense, specifically.
"Before we start laying things out, I think it’s important to sit down with Pablo as he gets here that we can talk about my thoughts about the defense at third base and how we man that position," Farrell said. "This isn’t just one view at third base now. We have second base to also contend with. How we rotate people through, we’ll cover that."
Farrell added that the team "might look to defend" for Sandoval late in games.
The ancillary problem for Sandoval is that he hasn't hit enough to mitigate his defensive shortcomings. Sandoval posted a .646 OPS prior to his injury, and he's now hitting .238 with a .287 on-base percentage and .650 OPS while with the Red Sox.
Sandoval has run a low batting average on balls in play while with Boston — .263 compared to a career mark over .300 and a league average that hovers around .290 — and he's shown some pop from the left side this season, with three homers in 50 plate appearances. And the bar isn't that high, considering Marrero's .175 average in the majors.
"If Panda comes up and impacts the baseball to his capability, that would be a great place to start, particularly from the left side of the plate," Farrell said. "The contributions from the ability to drive the baseball would be the biggest plus that we could look at."
If Sandoval struggles further with the glove or doesn't hit enough to overcome his defensive limitations, the Red Sox could turn back to Marrero, promote Rafael Devers from Double-A, or seek help outside the organization at third. And if Sandoval can't claim third base over this current patchwork group of infielders, then it's hard to see the Red Sox ever giving him a serious shot at the position again, no matter how many dollars and years are left on his contract.
"What's done is done," Farrell said. "All we're concerned about is how to get the most out of today."