Red Sox: Could Pablo Sandoval be traded back to the Giants?

There are rumors that Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval could be traded back to the San Francisco Giants.

As December is right around the corner, rumors are beginning to swirl around Major League Baseball. One recent rumor is that the San Francisco Giants may be interested in a reunion with former All-Star third baseman Pablo Sandoval.

Boston Herald writer Evan Drellich wrote an article on the rumor of Sandoval going back to San Francisco and brought up two important questions for the Red Sox to consider before letting him go.

"“How motivated the Red Sox should be to trade Sandoval depends on two other questions: how well do they believe the third baseman can control his eating, and how much of the $58 million he’s guaranteed through 2019 (including a 2020 buyout) should they be willing to eat?”"

As most of us know, Sandoval decided to leave San Francisco when he was a free agent and signed a 5-year contract with the Boston Red Sox worth $95 million. A lot of that money has been paid, but there’s still a lot left for the third baseman.

Honestly, Sandoval should know that Boston is not a place where he will be successful. He should be hoping that these rumors are true because of his former success in San Francisco.

When Sandoval signed with the Red Sox, people in Boston were jumping for joy. Many people, including myself, believed that he was the answer the Red Sox needed to become an elite ball club.

Boy, were we wrong.

When Sandoval arrived to Boston, he looked heavier, wider and simply fatter.

When Sandoval was in San Fransisco, the Giants were strict on him with his weight and made sure that he was always in shape. But when he arrived in Boston, the Red Sox weren’t as strict, which is the reason why he looked more like a defensive tackle than a third baseman.

Throughout the two years of Sandoval playing for the Red Sox, it has been a disaster. The weight was always an issue, there were locker room problems and he simply wasn’t playing up to expectation.

We have all seen this before with big name players not playing well in Boston. Whether it was Carl Crawford, Éric Gagné or now Pablo Sandoval, there are players who simply can’t handle the atmosphere and media in Boston.

Looking into the future, if Sandoval were to be traded, I don’t see it pushing the Red Sox backwards whatsoever. We saw Travis Shaw meet the expectations at third base just fine last year. And to put it bluntly, the Red Sox win more games with Pablo Sandoval out of the lineup than with him in it.

Next: Boston Red Sox: Just say no to a Zack Greinke deal

As the food comas begin to wear off due to the large amounts of Turkey everyone ate, we need to realize that this is just another day in the life of Pablo Sandoval. All we can do now is wait and see for what the Red Sox do with Sandoval’s future.