Boston Red Sox: Pablo Sandoval is Proving He Belongs in the Starting Lineup
Pablo Sandoval created quite the uprising amongst Boston Red Sox fans in 2016, but it looks like 2017 could be a much different year for the Panda.
Playing in three games, coming to camp looking heavier than Uncle Buck, breaking your belt mid-swing and wasting roughly $17 million is not an ideal season for any Boston sports athlete.
More from Call to the Pen
For a while, it looked like Pablo Sandoval's playing career in Bean Town was over. Travis Shaw was off to a hot start, Yoan Moncada was turning heads in the minors and Boston Red Sox fans around the globe were making a mockery of the once beloved San Francisco superstar.
Fast forward to today and Shaw and Moncada no longer call the Red Sox their team and Sandoval is the one turning heads. He came into camp much slimmer than he has looked in the past and was active on social media, posting plenty of videos of his grueling workouts. What is most optimistic about the third baseman are the numbers he is putting up this spring.
Sandoval hasn't been named the starting third baseman by manager John Farrell just yet, but there seems to be no competition with the way that he is hitting the ball. He has 13 hits in 39 at-bats and has collected 24 total bases. His power swing looks like it is back, crushing three home runs and driving in 11 RBI with a .615 slugging percentage. The only number that is discouraging are his 11 strikeouts.
In a game this past weekend, Sandoval hit two home runs that were absolutely annihilated. The first blast went deep into the right-field bleachers on a pitch that looked like it jammed him. The second home run was roped on a line on a high fastball that he didn't let slip by him.
Both home runs were hit from the left-side of the plate, the side that has favored Sandoval's average and hitting. He is a switch-hitter but has struggled mightily when hitting from the right side. It'll be interesting to see if the Red Sox allow him to keep switch-hitting or will primarily keep him on the left-side.
Sandoval's impressive spring is exactly what the Boston Red Sox needed. Despite having MLB's best offense in 2016, Boston lost their long-time designated hitter David Ortiz who put up one of the greatest seasons by a 40-year-old in MLB history. His absence is going to create a major hole in the middle of the order, but perhaps Sandoval can be the puzzle piece that fits in perfectly.
Brock Holt seems to be the only other player who could knock off Sandoval for the starting spot, but his spring isn't off to a great start. In just 27 at-bats, he's hitting .259 with a RBI. The ultimate utility man should be just that, a utility man. Holt's biggest strength is playing seven different positions in the field, locking him down as a starter when there is a better option on the bench would only hurt.
If Sandoval keeps the production rolling into April, the jokes about the Panda could disappear quicker than all of that belly fat from just a year ago. The Red Sox had a Cy Young winner a year ago, but a Comeback Player of the Year would look nice on the mantel as well.
