It didn’t take very long for Yoan Moncada to win the starting third base job, but Travis Shaw isn’t going to be relegated to the bench.
Shaw beat out Pablo Sandoval for the gig to begin the season, but the 26-year-old has since fallen off offensively. Since the All-Star break, Shaw is batting .203 with a .277 on-base percentage, while Moncada already has gone 4-for-10 with a double, an RBI and three runs in just three games.
So Shaw is headed to left field.
“It seems like, third base, there’s not going to be much playing time there the rest of the year,” Shaw said before Monday’s game against the San Diego Padres, per the Providence Journal’s Brian MacPherson. “I’m going to focus pretty much all of my attention on left field from here on out. I don’t know what their plan is, but I’m going to make sure I’m adequate enough out there.”
Red Sox manager John Farrell said Shaw might get a chance to play left in Wednesday’s series finale in San Diego. And for what it’s worth, it sounds as though Shaw is comfortable with the decision to start Moncada.
“They wanted a spark, and Moncada came up and he’s played well so far since he’s gotten here,” Shaw said, per MacPherson. “I’m still, I don’t want to say I’m pleased, but I could have had a worse year.”
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
