The positional battle over who gets the starting job at third base has been one of the hottest debates in the Boston Red Sox’s camp over the course of Spring Training. Pablo Sandoval seemed to be the starter after signing a massive deal before the start of the 2015 season, and even though he wasn’t able to perform as expected, he still had the nod for 2016 due to his price tag and his experience.
Kung Fu Panda, however, wasn’t able to perform on a decent level during this spring and was outplayed multiple times by Travis Shaw. Shaw looked far better than Sandoval on defense, and his bat was very good as well so the manager John Farrell has decided to elect Shaw as the starter at the hot corner to start the season in the next few days.
On the surface it might be a surprising move but considering how both players have looked in recent weeks there’s no question that John Farrell made the right choice here.
Sandoval posted a mere .244 average with a .767 OPS while being a complete liability on defense. To top things off, the 29-year-old third baseman once again arrived to the training camp in poor conditions and he was clearly overweight, something that didn’t improve over the course of the last few weeks. Shaw, on the other hand, has a .333 average with a .886 OPS and has looked very good on the field where he can play both at third and first base with equal effectiveness.
Shaw didn’t hide his happiness for being named the starter for Opening Day and the 25-year-old said it was “very exciting. I feel like I did what I needed to do this spring to put myself in the best position, and I’m looking forward to experiencing my first Opening Day.”
Sandoval, on the other hand, wasn’t too pleased with the decision but seemed to accept it rather quickly. “”They made the decision. It was the right decision to help the team win. I’m going to be ready during the season to do my job out there”, he said.
It remains to be seen if this decision will last the entire season as Sandoval is more experienced and he seems to thrive in the heat of a pennant race, something that could be key down the stretch if Boston is in contention come August or September.
As of right now, however, Shaw has clearly outplayed the Venezuelan and he’s the better choice to start the season at the hot corner.