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Red Sox Rankings: American League East Third Basemen

By Drew Peabody

Sep 20, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval (48) gets to first on a fielding error by Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brett Cecil (not pictured) in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. Boston defeated Toronto 4-3. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 20, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval (48) gets to first on a fielding error by Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brett Cecil (not pictured) in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. Boston defeated Toronto 4-3. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 20, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval (48) gets to first on a fielding error by Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brett Cecil (not pictured) in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. Boston defeated Toronto 4-3. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 20, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval (48) gets to first on a fielding error by Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brett Cecil (not pictured) in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. Boston defeated Toronto 4-3. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /

5.  Pablo Sandoval

2015 was a nightmare season for Sandoval.  It actually started out well for the former San Francisco Giant.  He posted an OPS of .839 in April which Red Sox fans would have been satisfied with if it had lasted through the season.  In May the OPS fell off the table to .553.  In June it rebounded to .775, so there was still a chance he could have had a solid season.  After the first half of the season his OPS was a decent .758.

Perhaps it was the media scrutiny or the fans impatience but Sandoval’s performance in the second half of the season was abysmal.  His line of .210/.267/.335 was a huge disappointment for Red Sox fans eager for the Kung Fu Panda to perform up to his previous levels he had attained with the Giants.  Sandoval’s right handed hitting was so terrible (two hits in 41 at-bats) that he abandoned hitting right handed versus left handed pitchers which he had done for his whole career.

While the team wasn’t expecting a Gold Glove defender, Sandoval’s Defensive Runs Saved was a terrible -13 which means he was that much worse than the league average for third basemen.  This had occurred in 2009 as well, but considering he was 17 runs better last season in this category, a bad year could not have been much more complete than 2015.

Next: Heath Hembree seems ready for 2016

The Red Sox can only hope that Sandoval can turn things around in 2016, to at least move up in this list as the season goes on.  Since they still owe him $77 million, he is untradeable as much as fans might want Travis Shaw to step in at third base.

Stay tuned to BoSoxInjection.com each Tuesday to see how the Red Sox fare in that week’s Power Rankings

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