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Red Sox: What if Boston signed Max Scherzer instead of Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval?

By Charlie Smith

Apr 9, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval (48) high fives left fielder Hanley Ramirez (13) after scoring against the Philadelphia Phillies during the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 9, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval (48) high fives left fielder Hanley Ramirez (13) after scoring against the Philadelphia Phillies during the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /

Verdict?

Signing Hanley hasn’t been a bad move as he’s been able to live up to his end of the deal thus far. The experiment for him to go out to play left field didn’t work out too well but having him be the next first baseman did work out.

Should the Sox have signed two third basemen? Technically, only one of the two guys played third, with the other going out to left. Panda’s signing was a mistake. I supported him at first but at this point it’s safe to call him a bust. The Panda project failed.

The Red Sox were hoping that 2017 proved to be a fruitful year for Sandoval so that way when the trade deadline came, there might have been a chance that another club might have taken a chance on him. Five years on a player who had declining numbers should have been a glaring red flag but our former GM, Ben Cherington, missed it. Cherington left in late 2015 with Dave Dombrowski taking over to right the ship. It hasn’t been all roses for Dombroski either but that’s not his fault.

Could the Sox have managed to sign Scherzer and Ramirez? It’s possible. In this scenario, being positioning with the choice of signing either Scherzer or both Ramirez and Sandoval, the answer is simple. The Sox should have signed Scherzer.

As a result of signing both Ramirez and Sandoval, signing Scherzer was impossible. That would have given the Sox a plethora of Aces in Boston. The world will never know just how great the Sox would have been with Scherzer at the front of the rotation.

Stay tuned for the next “What If” article to come out in a few weeks.

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