The Panda is taking the news in stride.
Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell announced Thursday in Fort Myers, Fla., that Travis Shaw will start at third base over Pablo Sandoval to open the 2016 season. It’s an interesting decision considering Sandoval will earn more than $17 million this season, but Shaw outplayed the two-time National League All-Star in spring training and performed well down the stretch in 2015.
“We talked about it. I’m happy with the decision,” Sandoval said Thursday, according to WEEI.com. “They made the decision. It’s the right decision to help the team win. I’m going to be happy. I’m going to be ready on the bench, get ready for anything. I’m going to get ready during the season to do my job.”
Sandoval, who said he wasn’t surprised by Farrell’s decision, is coming off a season in which he batted .245 with 10 home runs, 47 RBIs and a .658 OPS in 126 games. He also played poorly at the hot corner.
It hardly was the type of production the Red Sox were expecting when they signed Sandoval — a three-time World Series champion with the San Francisco Giants — to a five-year, $95 million contract before last season, and he did little this spring to convince Boston that things will be different in 2016.
“I just look at it as what is best for the team. I don’t look at it in a selfish place,” Sandoval said, per WEEI.com. “I look at it what is best for the team. If it is going to help win for the team, I’m happy.”
Sandoval, 29, entered Thursday hitting .270 (10-for-37) with two home runs, six RBIs and an .848 OPS in 39 plate appearances this spring. Shaw, who turns 26 on April 16, is batting .333 (18-for-54) with two homers, nine RBIs and an .898 OPS in 58 plate appearances, while also outperforming Sandoval from a defensive perspective.
Thumbnail photo via Jonathan Dyer/USA TODAY Sports Images
