Top prospect Yoan Moncada is playing third base & hitting like a man possessed by baseball gods. Does it change anything for Boston Red Sox Pablo Sandoval?
The Red Sox depth chart at third base stands thus: Travis Shaw, Aaron Hill, and Brock Holt. A 26-year-old lefty bat hitting .248; a 34-year-old righty bat, who will be a free agent next season, hitting .265; and a utility player, albeit a 2015 All-Star, who hits on the left side at .255. Not exactly what the Red Sox had in mind to fix the problem at third base, two years ago.
Shaw’s .936 fielding percentage doesn’t help matters, making him 17th out of 20 qualifying third basemen in the majors. Neither does his 15 errors.
What the Red Sox, especially former general manager Ben Cherington, had in mind was Pablo Sandoval, the man Shaw replaced to begin the 2016 campaign. Cherington signed both Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez to huge contracts to fill in the gaps left at third base and left field. Instead, two yearly stays in the division cellar, after just winning the World Series in 2013, shifted Hanley to first base, Pablo Sandoval to the bench, sent Cherington packing, and made the Red Sox hire Dave Dombrowski as the president of baseball operations.
Three games in April was all that it took for Dombrowski and manager Jon Farrell to be convinced that Sandoval’s 95-million-dollar behind would be best served to sit on the bench than to play. He earned no hits, one walk, and four strikeouts in those games, before putting him on the disabled list for a strained left shoulder. In May, Sandoval had surgery on his shoulder which is making him miss the entire 2016 season.
Whether it be the shoulder injury or poor play or a weight problem, as some members of the media have suggested, that’s a lot of money sitting on the pine for Boston. That money could have been spent on a more successful asset, instead of one who broke his belt while swinging at a pitch because it couldn’t take the pressure that his gut was imposing.
Enter Yoan Moncada.
Nobody is suggesting that the Red Sox should start hiring players based on their physical appearance alone, “the same old ‘good body’ nonsense like we’re selling jeans” that Billy Beane vents about in the movie Moneyball. Having said that, Moncada’s built more like a Pro Bowl NFL football player than a guy too big to run the bases and then having to leave the game because he was “dehydrated.” At age 21, Moncada’s 205-pound frame makes the Cuban phenom look lean and mean, especially in recent weeks.
Why does that matter to Sandoval? It’s because the Red Sox decided to tell the Portland Sea Dogs, their Double-A affiliate, that they wanted to see what Moncada could do at third base, instead of second. Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reported that Moncada “belted a three-run home run and made a diving play at third base in Double-A Portland’s 8-2 victory over New Hampshire on Tuesday. […] He was playing his fourth straight game at third base since converting from second base.”
It wasn’t just the home run that was impressive, it was also the distance:
Moncada up in 2nd inning with runners on 1st & 3rd, 2 outs: Launches 93 mph fastball for HR to right center .102 mph exit velocity. 411 feet
— Kevin Thomas (@ClearTheBases) August 23, 2016
Smith also includes a video of the glove work that Moncada’s been producing at third base, as well. It definitely speaks of potential, notably because Boston already has a stellar second baseman in Dustin Pedroia locked up until the next decade. Moncada’s 2.75 range factor alone is noticeable, compared to Sandoval’s career 2.34. It was only 2.26 last season.
Combine that with Moncada’s bat performance and he has all the makings of the new Red Sox third baseman for the foreseeable future. Moncada has hit .285/.386/.563, with 10 homers and 26 RBIs, in just 39 games for Portland.
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However, as great as that sounds, experience might win out over youth. That experience isn’t as much the eight full seasons that Sandoval has clocked in the majors as it is the 66 years of John W. Henry II, owner of the Red Sox.
Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald recently had an interview with Henry about the state of the team. One of his questions was on how Sandoval stands with the Red Sox. Henry replied, “Pablo is a supremely talented veteran and a proven winner. He knows exactly what he needs at this point in his career. With Papi [David Ortiz] leaving we absolutely need Pablo to return to the form we’ve seen in the past. This year and last were frustrating for him and frustrating for us. We need him next year.”
Sean Penny of BoSox Injection understands where the owner is coming from. Even though the fans want to move on from the Sandoval debacle, “it’s not our money being spent, nor would it be up to any of us to eat the remaining three years on his contract. That’s a tough pill to swallow, even for someone as wealthy as Henry.” In the Silverman interview, Henry also added, “I think a lot of people wrote off Hanley (Ramirez) last year. He’s an extremely important part of the offense and the defense now.” Penny states, “If Sandoval were to stay healthy, motivated and get back in decent shape, could he have a similar bounce back campaign in 2017? That’s a lot of ‘ifs’ to count on, but it’s feasible.”
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Sandoval does have three World Series rings, which he won with the San Francisco Giants, which he helped to earn and gave him the moniker Kung Fu Panda, from the hit children’s movie of the same name. However, the 30-year-old Venezuelan is now a far cry from his form in the City by the Bay. The former two-time All-Star hit .294 in seven seasons for San Fran, while hitting only .242 in just over a season for the Red Sox. If he could play the same way that he did to earn the 2012 World Series MVP award, Sandoval may be worth another chance. If not, Henry should make like Po and eat away his problems, as in eat Sandoval’s hefty contract and play Moncada at third base.
But who wants $95 million sitting at the pit of his stomach and not in his wallet?