The Red Sox started the 2017 season fully committed to Pablo Sandoval at 3rd base sending Travis Shaw to Milwaukee – two unlikely stars have pulled the team together in the Panda aftermath
No one expected to see Travis Shaw dominate this season. Anyone stating they did I would call a liar. Boston Red Sox General Manager Dave Dombrowski decided to go all in on Pablo Sandoval considering the amount of money committed to him through 2019. Shaw was traded away to Milwaukee with three other players for reliever Tyler Thornburg. Everyone remembers how poorly that trade turned out for Boston. Thornburg hasn’t thrown a pitch in 2017.
With the Red Sox turning the page on Panda at third base, the Red Sox needed a quick solution. They ended up getting two in three days by calling up rookie sensation Rafael Devers and trading for super utility man Eduardo Nunez at the deadline. No one expected either one to be as successful as they have become. While there is still plenty of baseball to go until the season is over, the Sox can count on these two going forward.
While trading players or adding players in free agency is part of the game, Dombrowski has left fans in Beantown in awe and ripping their hair out. Had the Shaw move never happened, I think anyone would find it hard to argue that this team would not be a final four team in the playoffs come October.
The nightmare that was third base is now over. After losing players via injury or free agency, that ugly chapter of the 2017 Boston Red Sox season has finally come to a close. Thank goodness.