Red Sox: Five lowest points of Pablo Sandoval’s tenure in Boston
By Sean Penney
Ben Cherington resigns
The reign of former Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington was a mixed bag. On the one hand, he’s responsible for signing a collection of affordable, high character veteran free agents prior to the 2013 season, assembling the pieces that brought Boston a World Series title. He also drafted and oversaw the development of prospects who are now making their presence felt for the big league team or who have been shipped out in trades to acquire star talent.
On the other, he burdened the franchise with a number of blunders on the free agent market. None of Cherington’s mistakes stand out more than the signing of Sandoval.
The decision to sign Sandoval was met with immediate skepticism. It was bad enough that his OPS had steadily declined over his previous three seasons with the San Francisco Giants. Acquiring Sandoval was even more baffling given that it coincided with the Red Sox signing Hanley Ramirez, who happened to play the same position.
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It was clear that Cherington’s mentality was that he wanted to add a couple of high profile bats and figure out how to fit them in the lineup later. The plan backfired with disastrous results. Hanley’s adventures in the outfield was a horrifying experience, but at least he salvaged some of his value once he was moved to first base. Sandoval never provided positive value in any aspect of the game.
Cherington resigned from his position in August 2015, shortly after the Red Sox appointed Dave Dombrowski as their new president of baseball operations. While Cherington was offered the option of staying on as general manager, the change was viewed as a clear demotion that stripped him of all decision-making power. He had no interest in the new front office structure, so Cherington left the organization.
The good that Cherington did during his time at the helm of the Red Sox front office outweighed the bad – after all, flags fly forever. Yet the poor decisions he made are what we’ll remember most. Sandoval was undoubtedly the worst of those decisions, leaving us to wonder if Cherington would still be here if he had never signed the maligned third baseman.