Red Sox: Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval sitting again

Another day off against right-handed pitching for two of the Red Sox’ most expensive players.

For the second straight game, Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval will find themselves on the bench against a right-handed pitcher.

Ramirez, the club’s everyday DH, is still battling neck spasms that reportedly came about when he turned to talk to someone on Thursday. While the team manager John Farrell said the injury isn’t related to Ramirez’s start at first base on Wednesday (just his second time playing the field in 2017), it’s worth mentioning that he was forced to sit out for three days the last time he started at the position.

As for Sandoval, it’s beginning to look like his days are numbered. Farrell explained that his decision to start Josh Rutledge over the team’s presumed starting third baseman was one of preference on Friday night. Based on the Astro’s ability to hit for contact, he felt the need to field a player whose defense he could trust. That decision worked out, as Rutledge went 1-for-4 with several quality plays in the field.

Rutledge will get the start over Sandoval again tonight, who management has seemingly lost all faith in.

Sooner or later, the club will have to make a decisive move regarding Sandoval’s future in Boston. Two-plus years into a five-year, $95 million contract and he’s been worth a grand total of -2.7 fWAR as a Red Sox. Nevertheless, the team remains committed to giving him a chance to help the team win now, despite the fact that he has been worth negative value since signing. Take this quote from team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski on Sandoval’s situation, via Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.

“Sometimes you have to give guys an opportunity before you just jump to the conclusions right away. We’ll continue to monitor his situation. It’s up to him to do well, and we’ll see what takes place.”

Emphasis on “sometimes you have to give guys an opportunity.” I’m not sure how much more of an opportunity Sandoval needs, but for all of our sake’s I hope it’s nearing its end.

Next: A look at Red Sox prospect Jalen Beeks

The Pablo Sandoval experiment has been a failure, plain and simple. It’s clear that the team’s starting to move in this direction, but if they really want to be competitive in this division, they’ll need to stop wasting innings and at-bats on a player that probably isn’t even capable of playing in the big leagues anymore.