Red Sox manager John Farrell informed media members today that Travis Shaw has won the starting third base job. The move relegates Pablo Sandoval, still owed $75MM on his contract through the 2019 season, to a bench role.
While the Sox have openly stated all spring that roster spots will be determined by performance, it’s still eye-opening to see Sandoval go from vaunted offseason signing to backup in the span of just one year. Sandoval struggled badly in his first season in Boston, hitting just .245/.292/.366 over 505 plate appearances and posting terrible defensive numbers (-21.9 UZR/150, minus-11 Defensive Runs Saved) at the hot corner.
Farrell noted (hat tip to Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald) that Shaw’s defense clinched the decision, which makes sense given that both players hit well during Spring Training — Shaw has an .898 OPS over 58 spring PA, while Sandoval has an .848 OPS over 39 PA. Sandoval also missed some dealing with a bad back, which looks like it cost him valuable playing time.
Though Sandoval was recently scouted by the Padres, there hasn’t been much trade chatter about the veteran third baseman, which isn’t exactly surprising given his big contract and poor season. The Panda is just one of multiple payroll albatrosses on Boston’s payroll; between Sandoval, Rusney Castillo and Allen Craig, the Red Sox have almost $38MM tied up in players who aren’t expected to be everyday players (or, in Craig’s case, even in the majors). That’s not counting Hanley Ramirez, who also heavily underachieved in his first year in Boston and is owed $66MM through 2018 with another $22MM available in a vesting option for 2019. If the Red Sox were to trade Sandoval or any of these players, they would very likely have to eat more of the salary owed or take on another bad contract to facilitate a deal.
Shaw, meanwhile, is under team control through the 2021 season and has made a semi-out of nowhere ascent to a Major League starting lineup. A ninth-round draft pick in 2011, Shaw was a decently well-regarded prospect (Baseball America ranked him as the 19th best prospect in the Red Sox system prior to 2015, and 26th prior to 2014) who made a large impression in his rookie season, hitting .270/.327/.487 over his first 248 PA in the bigs. Shaw is a first baseman by trade but has appeared in 104 games at third in the minors and eight games at the position last season with the Sox.
Excellent news for Shaw, well deserved. I hope he makes the most of this opportunity and show management that they made the right decision!
what a joke of an organization. they give an over weight lazy ballplayer a huge contract then bench him.
Ben Cherrington did that, along with Hanley and Porcello, and they fired him for it. And are you suggesting they play him just because of his contract? That would be the real joke.
I don’t get it either, they made a mistake and fired the guy who made it. They are stuck with it, but it’s hardly something to call them a joke over as all teams make that kind of mistake at one time or another.
The joke might be overpaying ex-All-Stars for their non-prime seasons, but that’s not altogether true either as it actually doesn’t take a big season to warrant a big contract, last year 3.0 fWAR was worth $24.1M.
Cherington wasn’t fired. He resigned.
lol, the $/WAR thing is a joke. An everyday starter is considered a 2 WAR player. A bench player is considered a 1 WAR player. If 3.0 WAR = $24.1 million, then 1.0 WAR = approximately $8 million
Are you really telling me every bench player who puts up a 1.0 WAR is worth $8 million? Sorry, I don’t think so
Using that analogy, the 2015 Yankees who won 87 games were “worth” $308 million (they had a team 38.5 WAR)
Just like how Mattingly wasn’t “fired” from LA. Same diff.
You need to read up on how things work.
It’s more like the average cost of WAR on the free agent market. Not the value of it.
Mattingly and the Dodgers agreed to part ways. There is nothing (in the media) that says that about Cherington and the Sox.
Was he (Cherington) going to get fired? Perhaps, but that’s no guarantee. Cherington resigned when Dombrowski was hired as president of baseball operations which obviously is Not the same as the GM. Just like how Epstein was hired in that role for the Cubs, but Hoyer remained and still is the GM.
“You need to read up on how things work.”
If this was directed at me, I think YOU need to be the one to read up on how things work
FanGraphs uses $/WAR and here is Fangraphs very own rule of thumb regarding WAR
Scrub 0-1 WAR
Role Player 1-2 WAR
Solid Starter 2-3 WAR
Good Player 3-4 WAR
All-Star 4-5 WAR
Superstar 5-6 WAR
MVP 6+ WAR
Now you should learn Math. If 3 WAR = $24 million (according to You, not Me), then 1 WAR = $8 million. Elementary school math.
I can’t stand $/WAR. It has no practical value. The market fluctuates. Players don’t sign contracts based on $/WAR. Teams don’t offer contracts based on $/WAR. They shouldn’t either. One side should work to maximize dollars and the other should try to get as much value for their money as possible.
WAR is a useful statistic to measure on field performance. Using it to determine the exact monetary value of a player is silly.
Agree ianthomas. It is ridiculous that the number is as high as they put it.
Exactly. The money per WAR is ridiculous. Nobody is worth 60,70,80 million dollars a year, no matter what sort or gaudy numbers are put up.
Hoyer did not remain as Cubs Gm. When Theo was hired Hoyer was GM of the Padres. Theo then brought him over to the Cubs with Jason McLeod right away
You try to trade him, eat some of the salary and move on.
Hmm, looks like you’re right One Fan.
I’m on MLB.com (the page is outdated though) and it said Hoyer was GM of the Padres from 2009-2011 and is Cubs GM from 2011-Present
Reason I know these are outdated is because it says Padres GM is still Byrnes – sandiego.padres.mlb.com/sd/history/general_manager…
Here’s the Cubs one – chicago.cubs.mlb.com/chc/history/general_managers.…
I’m finding no article anywhere however of when Hoyer went back to San Diego After he went to the Cubs in 2011. It’s not even on his Wiki page. You are right though because I did find an article stating what you said about Theo bringing Hoyer back to the Cubs
I have never understood why, in this world of sabermetrics, people are somehow content to do a $/WAR thing on a linear scale. It makes NO sense.
Not entirely how it went down. Moorad wanted his guy Byrnes to be his GM and did nothing to support Hoyer.. When Theo came asking Moorad saw it as a way to get Byrnes. So much so there was no compensation requested for Jed’s departure (and Jason’s)..
It would have been interesting to see what Jed/Jasons plan for the Pads would have been with support.. Chances are they would have left anyways but we will never know.
Thank you Karkat! Was wondering how long (if at all) it would take for someone to bring up the point about it not being linear haha
Sure it seems like elementary math to divide 24 by 3 so that 1 war = $8, but that makes an assumption of a linear equation (which this clearly is not).
sigh………… the $/WAR thing is based on WHAT TEAMS ACTUALLY PAID per win in free agency. It isn’t a contrivance. It’s based on the contracts given and the avg value provided. So if 30 free agents sign for a total of $520 million and provide 65 WAR then you end up with $8m per win. it’s not some mystical made up number.
There IS a ceiling obviously as nobody is going to get paid $60m a season even of they provide 7 or 8 WAR, but the lower end (where 0.5-1 WAR players make $8-$10m ) bring the avg up. as do the 2 WAR guys who can make a bit over $8m per win.
the Yankees weren’t “worth” $308 million, but that’s what a team would have expected to spend to acquire 38.5 wins in the free agent market. See the difference?
It can also be used tp figure out how much, if any, excess value a team got from a free agent signing.. You sign Player A for 6 years $150m to break even you would need approx 19 WAR from said player and any production over that is considered excess value (not taking into consideration inflation which might drop that nearer to 17 WAR over the life of the deal) If the player provided 25 WAR you could say that the free agent deal provided $70m in excess value for the team, if he provided 12 WAR you would say that it provided $45m in negative value… make more sense now?
Baseball is a billion dollar business for most of these teams. The more we research and understand, the scarier the reality is – ie, $20mil a season isn’t what it once was.
Where do you get a dollar amount to pay per fWAR? It’s only worth was a market will bear.
it isn’t a dollar amount ” to pay per win” it’s a dollar amount that tells us what all of MLB DID PAY per win at the most recent free agency period.
I seriously doubt any team goes “well, he’s a 3 win player so let’s offer $24mill. $$$ per WAR is just a short form way of telling us what the free agent market was like for any particular season and track the rate of inflation, if any.
Thank you so much for this. It’s a great explanation.
That “joke” of an organization has won 3 World Series titles in the last 12 seasons. Thats is an ironic comment coming from a Cubs fan..
I love how arrogant Cubs fans have gotten when they didn’t even make the WS last year, and are still, you know, the Cubs – LOL.
Cubs fans are having a blast being off-season paper champions. Doesn’t matter how good they look, they will do some typical Cubs antics in September/October as usual.
They’ve been one of the best in baseball the last 12 years, but they’ve been one of the worst the last 4 years.
What typical September/October antics did they pull last year? Oh that’s right, none! Just because everyone blames bartman for 03, when the real problem was Dusty overusing Prior and Gonzo booting a ball, doesn’t mean some “antics” are going to happen every year!
I’m a lifelong Cubs fan and I can’t stand the over abundance of media coverage! Also, the fact that so many pundits are picking the cubbies to win the World Series is driving me crazy! I wish they would all just dink a warm glass of “shut the hell up”. Play the games and let’s see what happens! Don’t jinx this, nothing is certain, lots of things can go wrong!
Personally I hate that the Cubs are the as you called it “paper champions ” the media sucks!
Sure…. blame Dusty for letting a pitcher do what he is supposed to do. You’re the WORST kind of Fan, PERIOD. Spewing nonsense. Players/Pitchers get hurt ALL a the time. But people like you blame others for the CUBS stinking!
Daniel Murphy happened to the Cubs last year. Do you remember being swept by the Mets, or are we just going to pretend that didn’t happen?
I don’t like the Red Sox either, but there are only two franchises (KC & SF) with at least as many WS titles as Boston over the past 4 seasons. I’d take 3 losing seasons and a WS title in 4 years in a heartbeat for the Rockies and I’m sure the fans of most other teams would as well.
It’s also won 3 in the last 90? Guess it depends on your cut off point.
Swept by the Mets? Are u referring to the ’86 WS? Not a sweep by any chance, but 7 full games and problem there, was Boston with *3* DH’s playing in a lineup (Don Baylor, Billy Buckner and Jimmy Rice) where 2 actually had to field positions.
Billy Buck was a cripple by that time of his career and walke like a duck his legs were so destroyed, could barely bend over as well, but Baylor couldn’t even move (think he led league in HBP about every year by then, or near the top).
Those were times when Sox were moving fine young arms.. Like John Tudor and Bobby Ojeda for either decrepit bats, or over hyped NY prospects.
He was talking about the Mets sweeping the Cubs in the NLCS last season.
That signing – along with Hanley’s – was orchestrated by Larry Lucchino…..who was asked to resign last year.
Soriano? Edwin Jackson? How many screw ups have your Cubbies made in the last decade? And how many playoff wins do they have? You are a joke buddy
I just want to say that this guy does not speak for all Cubs fans.
We know Kayrall. No team has a fan or fans that speak for all fans of that team.
Would you rather they play him because of his contract? Because that’s worse.
I feel a lot of love in this room.
That’s the right decision have to put the best team on the field since day one
What the sox are saying is instead of playing Pablo now we will wait until he is in shape to showcase him for a trade. He has no value and not even worth a bad contract in return. Pablo needs to lose 30lbs and show he wants to play before getting his job back.
They gave him that huge contract when he was just as big. He has always been big and I don’t know how they can now blame his weight. Maybe it was just a poor decision to sign him to that contract.
When he signed he weighed much less. He did the same thing with the giants showed up over weight and it took a couple of months to get in shape. He struggled that year for the first month.
@arc89 Pablo ALWAYS showed up out of shape to Giants camp and then put on even more weight during the season, at no point did he get in better shape as the season went along… Never happened. This is assuming you’re talking about “weight” as being in shape. He certainly showed up less fit and then had to scramble to work on his fitness but that never translated into lowering his weight.
Pablo did show up “in” shape exactly ONE season (his walk year) and then proceeded to put all the weight back on (plus some extra for spite).
When Pablo is heavy it affects his range dramatically.
You are wrong he did arrive in shape a couple of times after his first over weight spring training. The giants put him through a more tough off season the next year. The giants had concern that if he couldn’t stay in shape in his 20s it would be even worse in his 30s.
I like how this scenario has created some healthy competition for the Sox. With Shaw over Panda and recenty Holt over Castillo in left, Farrell is sending a message that performance is all that matters; no slackers on this team or youll be replaced. Gives the young guys hope that theyre never truly blocked and gives the vets a reason to bust their butts. The ideal outcome. And Pablo will have his opportunity to earn his spot back over time, well see if he capitalizes.
Excellent take. There’s been a much different attitude since DD came on board. I think it makes the fans much happier to see the best possible team on the field vs. playing the guys that are making all the money. We could pray this will light a fire under Pablo, but I don’t think anyone is holding their breath.
And people think he can be traded straight up for Shields?
I’ve also hear “voices” saying that a “Pablo for Kemp” trade could happen…..Bwahahahaha.
Pablo can still play and can still hit, if he’s motivated. He does need to be in better shape however. Wire his jaw shut until he’s 235………then showcase him, and trade him to the 1st bidder (before he blows up again….lol)
Straight up? No chance. But I can see if Boston gives a prospect and adds money to offset salaries between Shields/Pablo and likely a little more depending on quality of prospect (or prospects) they give up
I wish I could say I thought this would encourage Sandoval to step up his game, but I think Pablo has already made it clear by showing up for camp overweight (even for him) that he just does care. He’s got his guaranteed money and he already has a collection of World Series rings, so why would he bother trying at this point?
Really happy for Shaw though. I hope he can build on last year’s success.
FWIW I think Pablo has a legitimate problem with food that he can’t control. Not sure anything can really motivate him to change. But he did say Farrell made the right choice which is an incredibly good reaction to losing your job.
Honestly, if I was making $19MM this year and I didn’t have to risk injury while sitting on the bench to get it, I’m not sure how motivated I would be to try hard either. I don’t believe many other people would either. It’s not human nature.
Guys that get to that level want to play, not sit the bench.
there are many people in sports with guaranteed contracts who still bust their rears and are in shape! i remember ARod with the Rangers in a game in September. Texas had basically been eliminated from the race in July. Alex was the last hope in a game the Rangers were losing. He hit a slow ground ball to third and DIVED into first base trying to get on. Why did he do that? He loved the game. He respected the game. He had that competitive desire to do whatever necessary to win the game. I had more respect for ARod for that than his hitting 50 HR’s. Yes, he’s not a very nice/warm/friendly guy. Yes, he cheated by taking PED’s. That too was about being competitive. I would respect Panda for taking PED’s more than reaching for another double cheesburger. Pablo just didn’t care enough to get/stay in shape. He just thinks his athletic ability is enough. Human nature may be to do only what you have to. That’s fine for a guy flipping burgers or working on the assembly line. But these guys who reach the top of their professions do so by busting it. Athletic talent takes you only so far. The first guy on the court and the last one off the practice court for the Dallas Mavericks? Dirk Nowitzki. It’s not an accident he’s going into the hall of fame one day. The only way Sandoval goes in the HOF is if he buys a ticket.
Dombrowski must be thinking “I thought I just LEFT the team with all the underperforming vets signed to bad contracts?”
Didn’t he get fired? V Mart, JV, Simon and Anibal were the only ones who had bad contracts anyway, Simon is gone, JV V mart, and Anibal were all hurt. Not under performance other than Simon, just injuries
Rose colored glasses. Sanchez has never been durable or consistent, Martinez is clearly declining and and a bad contract, Verlander is declining and so is Cabrera.
Miguel Cabrera?
I enjoy the fact that they are putting the most competitive team on the field. Hopefully Sandoval can get some type of value back at some point to get some trade value. Maybe an “injury” will cause him an eventual rehab stint in AAA.
ha ha ha
“they would very likely have to eat more of the salary owed or take on another bad contract to facilitate a deal.”
Or, if they feel like taking a leaf out of AZ’s playbook, package him with a valuable, top 5 prospect from their org.
For example, Sandoval+$30M for Shields does not cut it for SD, but Sandoval+$30M+Devers for Shields? Preller will jump at that.
It’s not worth trading away Devers for Shields just to get rid of Sandoval. Boston doesn’t and shouldn’t want Shields. He has never, ever pitched well in Fenway.
5.42 ERA in 13 career starts in Fenway is not really that big a sample scale, but I see your point on that.
13 career starts and 5.42 ERA is definitely enough of a sample scale to say no to Shields. Plus, the fact that his contract alone is almost as ridiculous as Sandoval’s.
Keep in mind that is against the Red Sox offense (though the AL East has 3 other high scoring teams and another one that improved it’s offense a bit)
Even taking that into consideration, Shields’s numbers were always stunningly bad at Fenway (and Yankee Stadium, I think? Can’t look it up right now.) Shields is a fly ball pitcher who just naturally isn’t going to do well in a home ballpark where one of the walls is only 310 feet from the plate.
I’ve never really understood the rational about a pitcher not pitching well in a specific park when he is being talked about joining said team. …that just means that pitcher didn’t pitch well against those players in that park…..same can be said for success…
If you want to say a pitcher is a fly ball type pitcher overall and going to a short park is not tbe best I’d agree…
Nice Play!……and I believe that you’ve “hit on something” ……justanotherfan
Except the Redsox would be crazy to trade a top 25 prospect to swap 45mil of Sandoval (assuming they eat 30mil) for 65mil of shields, who Is overpaid himself..
That would seem to be a horrible trade for the Redsox
Yes, because any trade involving Sandoval would be horrible for the team acquiring him, ergo, a sweetener must be added. They aren’t getting out from under his deal in any other way so they have to bite the bullet and make it worth the while for the poor team taking on Fat Panda.
It IS possible to view things from other teams perspectives yknow? It’s not always about your team and your team MUST “win” all trades.
45mil of Sandoval is probably about equal of value to 65 of shields (especially when you add in the opt out).
Also, Devers isn’t a “sweeter”. He’s one of the best prospects in baseball. Someone, I’m not even sure the Redsox would trade for Tyson Ross, let alone a bad contract swap.
Do you know how many times we’ve all had to listen to Red Sox, Yankees and Mets fans tell everyone how their prospects are the best ever and they’re all going to be all-stars and then they end up being Ryan Westmoreland, Lars Anderson, Casey Kelly and Ryan Kalish?
Those 3 teams are the most “grain of salt” teams when it comes to prospects in MLB. So much overrating goes on, plus, its prospects, they are designed to fail.
I also wrote “sweetener” not “sweeter” but it appears you are kinda just a homer who won’t listen and thinks that everything in baseball trades has to favor his own team, so I’ll stop replying now.
The problem moving Sandoval is not his weight – he blistered his teammates on the Giants and the organization when he left there. Ridiculous. They all treated him wonderfully. One of the best places to play in MLB. Next he’s going to complain about the Red Sox. I don’t know how another organization puts him in their clubhouse for 3-4 more years even if the Sox pay the majority of his salary.
Oh please, that’s just silly. I guess Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts and Blake Swihart were all overrated too. Before them, Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Jacoby Ellsbury, Anthony Rizzo, and Kevin Youlilis were all overrated too? Prospects are prospects. Some pan out, some bust. You can cherry pick busted prospects, I can go through the ones that panned out.
If you knew how to actually evaluate minor league talent, or where actually aware of prospect evaluation, you would know Devers is a consensus top 25 prospect. You should do some reading at baseball America, or mlb, or baseball prospectus, or another prospect evaluation site to understand how silly that it.
Judging by that trade you made up, I think it’s you who might need to re evaluation of trade values
C’mon now….. Westmoreland had multiple brain surgeries and was forced to retire. Not fair.
Sure, because Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard and Matz are all busts, right? This coming from the same guy that called Derek Jeter – first ballot HOFer – the worst defensive SS of all-time time and the most overrated player of all-time. JAF must be a Brewers fan. Derp.
I don’t get where Shields is “overpaid.” IMO, an “overpaid” FA is a guy who is being paid for producing certain numbers and doesn’t perform at the level they had done in the past—like Pujols. Shields did everything the Padres could have expected. Before SD, JS was a guy who would take the ball every 5th day, toss 6-7 innings and win between 12-15 games a year. He’s done this for the last decade. The Pads got a 13-7 record and 200+ innings from James with a team that had a horrible offense and lost 88 games. YES—HE’S NOT A #1 STARTER. But he’s not being paid like Price, Kershaw, Grienke and Scherzer. He’s a good, reliable ML pitcher. I suspect most of the “Shields for Sandoval” talk in this forum has just been Red Sox fans trolling with the hope they wouldn’t have to see the Panda again. I don’t blame them and based on the decision of Farrell, we can all see why.
$21 million dollars for a 3.70 FIP and 1.1 WAR is not good value.
Shields was only paid $10mm last year. $10mm for a 3.70 FIP and 1.1 WAR isn’t exactly a huge overpay. If he puts up those numbers this year, then yes he will be overpaid. IMHO I believe a lot of last year had to do with Shields transitioning to the NL. As he has done in the past I think he will make some adjustments this year and pitch more like his career numbers. If he manages to lower his HR/9 total he should be a very solid #3 pitcher. Which is all the Padres need out of him pitching behind Ross and Cashner. Shields has never been a consensus #1 pitcher. He has always been a good leader and puts up solid numbers while always staying healthy and pitching 200+ innings. Look at the contracts Chen and Kennedy got this year. Shields is slightly overpaid at $21mm but only by $2-$3mm. I would prefer him and his contract over the cheaper Garza and Nolasco.
The market decides salaries, not FIP or WAR. I don’t know how much teams really pay attention to those new categories. Salaries are decided by 1. Market 2. position 3. need. If JS goes 13-7 again this year and eats up 200 innings, SD will be getting everything they paid for. He will be worth exactly the amount he’s getting because that’s what the Padres expected of him when they signed him. As I’ve said–he’s not a #1 but he’s not being paid as much as Price, Kershaw and Grienke. He is who he is and in his first year in SoCal, he delivered the type of numbers he had put up in the past which is all any team can expect of someone. More money doesn’t make you a better player/pitcher. He’s not Josh Hamilton.
I think you have the right idea but wrong player. Shields contract is just as bad and SD is trying to dump it as well. I don’t think Boston will give up a top prospect to dump his contract when they would be taking in a bad contract. Shields contract escalates and gets worse each season too. I don’t see a fit with these two teams in trade unless it was just a straight exchange of bad contracts based on position need.
No, Shields contract does NOT escalate and get worse and worse each season, its $21M a year for 3 years with a $16M team option.
Can you know what youre talking about before posting erroneous info next time?
I think the main reason Shields name is thrown around is to offset the money. Shields does have opt out clause after 2016, so possible he will opt out if he has a decent year.
Whatever you are smoking, can I have some? Must be out of this world.
I wonder with the Braves not realistically competing for at least this season if Boston ate a size able portion of the contract if it made sense for them to make a play for him. He was def a fan favorite with SF so it would give the fans some entertainment in what should be a bleak season. I don’t know maybe not a good idea with bad habits and so many young guys. I don’t even know how many more years he is signed for
With the buyout of 2020, he has 4/78 coming his way. I like the thought of Devers included with a boatload of cash. Even if they sent Devers and half his salary, it is essentially what we have/had with Bourn and Swish, a team paying half the salary of a player we do not need. But you know me, I always appreciate a trade scenario.
New regimen will ship out Sandoval and the Cuban too. They’ll have to eat a bunch of salary if they can get decent prospects in return.
The only scenario where Sandoval and Castillo are shipped out and the Sox receive a decent prospect back is if the Sox eat almost all, if not all, of those two contracts and probably take on another bad contract or two. At that point, it might just make more sense to hold onto those two.
I love the message this sends, make Pablo earn the job or don’t play.
Sandavol is on his way to the west coast. I could see my Sox trading him and Castillo for Shields, Kemp, and cash. Win-win for both teams.
Just what the Padres (or any team) needs – two self-entitled head cases.
Self entitled?? Dude, just shut up. So what they are underperforming their contracts, but they weren’t just GIVEN to them, they earned them. Nothing entitled about earning BIG contracts. Underperforming is a different story.
Yes, they are self-entitled.
Start with those 2 being high-maintenance and uncoachable.
And please don’t call me “dude”, kid.
YOU post on almost Every article like you actually know what’s going on inside clubhouses. You know just as much as an infant. All you know is the articles you read, which could be sensationalism at its best. You don’t know how coachable any MLB player is, b/c you’re not coaching them. DUDE
You know how I know this isn’t the real bigpapi4ever? A few reasons.
1. The name is different. “bigpapi4ever” is the real one, not “bigpapi4evr”
2. He doesn’t have the gif of Ortiz smashing the dugout phone as his profile pic.
3. His trade proposal actually seems halfway reasonable, even if it is highly unlikely.
He claimed the Sox to be his, it has to be him
I think they finally banned the real guy. Now if they would just get rid of all the posers as well this website would be well on its way to being back to its 2013 Disqus using prime.
That is not a “win” for the Padres.
Pretty sure that wouldn’t be a good trade for the Padres
That would be a dumb move for the Padres. They do not need an overweight player who will NEVER get in shape on an NL club in a ballpark that needs players that can hit the ball in the gaps and run.
Pablo needs to be in a small ball park where he can hit the ball and and jog around the bases. He also needs to be playing for a team where they use a DH because (as he has shown) when his is overweight, he can’t play defence very well and having to play defense when overweight adds risk to injury to a player.
Padres are stupid if they get Sandoval, he’s a liability and in my opinion will spend a lot of time on the DL as long as he’s carrying all those extra pounds.
how is that a “win” for SD? They trade away their two best players from last year for someone now sitting on the Boston bench?
If the is really Papi4….Didn’t you emphasize agreement with the story about the Sox not being interested in Shields due to his fly ball tendencies. Saying something along the lines of he wouldn’t make the rotation.
A savvy businessman would quickly open a 24-hour fried dough shop … in Pawtucket.
He would be a stupid businessman, b/c Sandoval is on the bench in Boston, not getting sent down to Pawtucket.
The right decision to field the best team, IMO.
Interesting, 6 of the 8 starting position players are now home grown (Mookie, JBJ, Shaw, Xander, Pedroia, Swihart).
Only Hanley and Left Field are not “pure” home grown guys. (Yeah, I know Hanley was a RS prospect, but he’s here because of the FA contract).
Lmao, am I ever loving this. This oughta be good for clubhouse chemistry in Boston. Kinda a gong show already. I can’t wait to watch the Jays launch bomb after bomb over the green monster, and sit back and watch the Red Sox implode.
Pablo could get away with the extra weight when he was younger man. At 29 he’s simply past his prime. The Giants dodged such a bullet. They would have paid for what he has done, not what he will do.
Pablo received this contract because of his playoff prowess. This reminds me of Aaron Rowand getting $60 million because of a memorable catch that busted up his nose.
the redsox may have some of the worst contracts as a franchise in the league
Hanley, Panda, Allen craig, there also rusney castillo who hasnt done anything, porcello … Yikes..
Has Porcello’s even kicked in yet? More than $20 million a year. Unbelievable..
And they still have the resources to hand a 30 year old pitcher 200 million like nothing I dont care what people say the game needs a cap.
So many butt hurt Red Sox fans in this thread. Sox are going to finish in last place for the third year in a row anyways. Beyond Price and Kimbrel, the entire pitching staff is a joke. Hanely and Panda are still terrible while Pedroira is turning into a barely leage average player at 2B. Mookei Betts is about the only talent on the entire team at this point.
Yes, but their prospects lead MLB in publicity.
Moncada is the real deal. Yes, quite often the Sox prospects are way over hyped but in the last ten years they have put out some solid to great players. How many teams can say they have put out an ace (Lester until last year) solid closer (Papelbon), Solid 3rd (Youkalis and if he could have stayed healthy would have played many more years) 2nd (Pedroria) SS (Boegarts, Ramirez and Garciapara years before) OF (Betts and JBJ imo JBJ will become solid in another year or two, Ellsbury) Solid #2 pitcher (Buchholz). Yes, they have had some big misses but what team has all of their prospects become stars? For a big market team the Red Sox have drafted and developed several high quality players and their fans should hype their prospects because they have a much higher percentage (imo) of becoming stars than some teams like the Yankees or Tampa (Tampa’s positional players never seem to pan out minus Longoria) I am a big Yankee fan but until Severino most of their hyped prospects failed. Remember Joba, Brackman, Montero, Banuelos? Even Betances was supposed to be a TOR arm. Sanchez has taken almost 7 years to become a player that can become a star. I would say hyped Boston prospects have a real shot at becoming special based solely on their track record. Of course there is always a Lavarnway or Middlebrooks to keep them honest.
While you may be right, Ortiz still hit very well last year, and I certainly wouldn’t mind having Xander Bogaerts on my team.
Red Sox just announced rotation: Price, Buchholtz, Kelly, Porcello, Wright . . .meh….whatever
I’ll trade you Sox rotation for Rockies rotation, straight up. I’m pretty sure the Reds would as well. Don’t “meh” when you have a recent Cy Young winner on the team. It could always be much, MUCH worse.
IMO Porcello tried way too hard to justify his new contract last year. He has the talent and skill set to justify that contract. Maybe this year he will settle down. I really like Kelly and I think he has TOR stuff. He seemed to put it together finally at the end of last year. Hopefully, he builds on that. With Price anchoring the rotation. And hopefully his work ethic rubs off on the others. I like their rotation this year way way more than last year.
Hehe I remember when this signing happened I said “holy cannoli they’re overpaying” (along with tons of other people). Not a bad price for a bench guy now though. I take my words back :/
Braves could take Pablo Sandoval and Jackie Bradley, Jr. for Nick Markakis and Michael Bourn and 12 Million in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Braves paying that $12M per year or so you mean that the other way around?
What would that accomplish for the Red Sox? A greater logjam in the OF with worse options that they have AND sacrificing one of the top young defensive players in the game just to get rid of Sandoval isn’t actually an improvement.
Now I was going to say that no one wants Markakis and Bourn, but at the same time no one wants Pablo. Still doesn’t make much sense for them to trade JBJ to unload Pablo. We aren’t talking about the DBacks
A bench player guaranteed $77.4MM.
Any Red Sox fans want to talk shit about Sabathia?
As an avid follower of the site and never ever commenting, this will be my one and only comment. Most Red Sox fans will lose their lunch over this, perhaps convulse, but as we’ve witnessed in life, the truth often hurts.
That being said, the Pablo Sandoval contract is by far, the worst in baseball right now. We’ll leave it at that. Worse the Puljos, which the baseball writers state as the worst.
People are delirious if they think that swapping Shields for Sandoval straight up makes sense. It doesn’t. Shields is an inning eater, who had a down season last year and frankly, outside of the homers, wasn’t that bad at all. He was still a + WAR player and would be a valuable addition to any team. His contract isn’t that bad either and he has an opt out after 16. If traded now, theoretically he could opt out and be offered a QO. Then you have the Matt Kemp rumors. Sure, he has not been 100% in recent years, and he is paid a lot, but he is also a + WAR player. Plus, I could see Kemp coming back a season or two and hitting .292 26/98.. That will never happen with Sandoval for the remainder of the contract.
Now that we have that all aside, here is the real trade proposal. Pablo Sandoval and Yoan Moncada for Shields and Kemp. By including Moncada, it doesn’t make it as lopsided and a straight salary dump, which the Padres would be the recipient of. If you run the numbers, Sandoval and Moncada are combined owed $108.5mm (not including bonus, which is already paid to Moncada). Kemp and Shields are owed $138mm and that’s the final sub-sized number with the Dodgers paying a little. The Red Sox would be taking on some salary (perhaps limited if Shields opts out and that has value in itself) and with two players that could actually have an active role on the team. For the Padres, getting Moncada would supplement some value from taking on the terrible contract of Sandoval. The Red Sox need to create value by off loading Sandoval and the Padres would need to receive it if they’re going to trade a player who is a + WAR player and has an opt out.
So how does this help the Padres, who would be losing the two best players they had last year for a fat guy sitting on the Red Sox bench and some kid from Cuba? If not for Shields and Kemp, the Padres may well have lost 100 games last year. You gotta give the San Diego fans SOME reason to buy tickets. It sure ain’t Panda and the kid.
Kemp & Shields are not exactly ticket sellers either. At least Moncada is good for the future.
Kemp and Shields were extremely productive last year. Sandoval wasn’t and Moncada may or may not be able to produce in the USA. It sure won’t be this year and losing Shields and Kemp would only further discourage potential ticket buyers in SD.
rofl
That proposal isn’t too far off. Kemp’s bat could become elite again if he is made a full time DH similar to ARod. But seeing as how he made a big stink about being moved out of CF I don’t think he will be happy strictly being a DH. However, I doubt the Red Sox ever trade Moncada seeing as how they spent around $65mm (bonus plus penalty) just to sign him. They have several other top notch prospects that could include instead (Devers and Benintindi sp?).
I am going to disagree on the worst contract in baseball. I would have to say the Angels paying Hamilton tens of millions to play for a division rival or Boston’s Craig getting paid millions to play AAA ball are both worse than Sandoval’s. Votto’s contract will surely be the worst in baseball in a couple of years or Cano’s.
I hope you continue to post comments. Yours was very well written and had a solid argument behind it.
View from a Midwesterner +Cub Fan: Signing big named free agents to large contracts is a luxury afforded by big market clubs. In doing so, there is always a great amount of risk, but the rewards that can be achieved by signing guys that smaller market or less financially equipped clubs can’t, gives those teams a greater opportunity to excel. Heaven knows the Cubs sat on some bad money for several years and were forced to eat the remaining money on E-Jax’s contract just last season and are still responsible for his $13MM guaranteed for this season (minus the 507.5K minimum that the Marlins have to pay). All big named free agents contracts don’t work out, but as a big market club, you have to keep the money line going, that’s just baseball. Unfortunately Panda’s market was set at what he received, and now the Sox have to figure out a way to get from under that contract, or simply let it play out. This won’t be the last bad contract signed by the BoSox because they are striving for success, and success involves risk. As a baseball fan in general, I hate to see dead money on anybody’s team. Especially a team that is striving to win now at all costs such as the Sox. I have no specific scenario that makes any sense, but I am also glad that DD allows his manager to make decisions that are not based on financial income, but based on performance, which gets many managers fired. For some reason, I think this won’t hinder the Sox in their pursuit of success. It simply looks bad on paper. With so many years left, I find it virtually impossible to imagine a trade scenario that would benefit both teams. Therefore, the Sox have no other choice but to go out there and try to succeed and hope that when Panda gets his AB’s, he excels. On a brighter note: Panda has absolutely no expectations for this season, which puts him in a good place. Any production coming from the Panda will be highly publicized and celebrated. There’s something to look forward to!
Being a redsox fan from venezuela i think that the made the rigth choice here and they should trade porcello sandoval castillo and a prospect for shields and kemp, next year the could leave shaw and 3rd and call up sam travis or move shaw to 1st and call up moncada or devers to play 3rd
Great news for Travis Shaw, well done.
This goes to show – if you’re a ballplayer “blocked” by a big name signing, you’re only one cheeseburger away from a shot.
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am not surprised by this. It is sickening to think that Pablo will still be getting paid for not giving a damn, but, hey, that’s professional sports. At least he still gets to partake in the buffet.