BOSTON — Pablo Sandoval is going to be spending some more time on the bench.
Red Sox manager John Farrell announced Wednesday that the team placed the third baseman on the 15-day disabled list with a left shoulder strain. Infielder Josh Rutledge was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to fill Sandoval’s spot.
“He reported (Wednesday) with a left shoulder strain,” John Farrell said before the Red Sox’s game against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. “To give you an exact moment of when it took place, I don’t have that to be honest. He’s been hitting a lot extra before (batting practice) and during the game in the cage. He’s got very limited range of motion. That was revealed after he went through a battery test with the medical staff, so he’s unavailable.”
As for why Boston went with Rutledge over someone like Deven Marrero, Farrell said it simply came down to offense. Rutledge was batting .316 in Pawtucket before the move.
“The way he’s swinging the bat,” Farrell said. “If we were to need a short-term fill at shortstop, we could slide Brock (Holt) in there. But if something unforeseen were to happen to (Xander Bogaerts), we could adjust accordingly, and if we were to need a shortstop on a more regular basis, we could make a change easily if we needed to. But the way Josh has swung the bat, he gives us that ability coming off the bench or in a spot start.”
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
