Boston parts ways with struggling Panda

In the winter of 2014, third baseman Pablo Sandoval was the hottest commodity at the hot corner on the free-agent market. After helping the San Francisco Giants claim their third World Series championship in five years in what would be the closest thing we've seen to a baseball dynasty since the New York Yankees of the mid to late 1990's and into the year 2000, the former World Series MVP inked a five-year, $95 Million dollar deal with the Boston Red Sox. And while his time in Boston began nightmarish for the 2-time All-Star, it would eventually be cut short as he was designated for assignment over the weekend.

Though staying healthy and in shape has never been a strong suit of Sandoval's, his ability to hit coupled with the defense he showed while with the Giants was virtually nonexistent during his time in Boston as he's been a shadow of his former self. In his first full year with the Red Sox, Sandoval struggled mightily, hitting a mediocre .245 on the season with career lows in both home runs (10) and RBI's (47) since breaking into the bigs in 2008. Hoping to bounce back with a solid 2016, his Sophomore year in Boston would be anything but as he was limited to only six at-bats in 3 games after straining his left shoulder which would require season-ending surgery. Following the injury, 2017 seemed to be promising for the 30-year old Sandoval who appeared in Spring Training close to 40 lbs. lighter and hitting much better at the plate as his .338 batting average and 5 home runs helped him win back the job as Boston's Opening Day starting third baseman. Instead, the struggles both offensively and defensively would continue as soon as the season started, as he hit just .212 with 4 HR and 12 RBI in 99 at-bats.

Adding to his frustration, Sandoval was plagued by injuries once more which eventually contributed to his designation despite still being owed over $48 Million dollars. That amount marks the second-highest total of money owed to a player, trailing only Josh Hamilton's $68.4 Million owed by the Angels after being cut by Los Angeles only two years into his five-year contract. While many around the baseball world would point to his former ball club in San Francisco as being an ideal landing spot for Sandoval, it's easier said than done and rather unlikely that he'll be reunited in the Bay Area. Though Sandoval became an instant favorite among Giants fans and players alike who embraced him with such nicknames as "Pandaval" and "Kung-fu Panda", he didn't leave on the best of terms with the Giants front-office. Not to mention the Giants appear to already have their third baseman of the future in 22-year old Christian Arroyo. Whether or not we'll be seeing fans at AT&T Park dusting off their old panda hats is anybodies guess at this point, but given the Giants could sign him to the prorated league minimum after Friday if the Red Sox fail to trade his rights, it wouldn't be the biggest of surprises if they decided to kick the tires on an old friend. In just 161 games with Boston over the past two and half seasons, Sandoval hit a sub par .237 at the dish with 14 homers and 59 RBI's. 


Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest