AL Notes: Sandoval, Zunino, Yankees

The ongoing saga between the Red Sox and Pablo Sandoval seemingly took another odd turn today. As Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports, manager John Farrell says that the third baseman’s scheduled examination by Dr. James Andrews was punted because his ailing left shoulder was too sore. Sandoval did receive a cortisone shot to treat the inflammation, and is set for another visit to Andrews in a “couple weeks.” Sandoval will obviously remain on the DL at least until that time, though it remains unclear what kind of activity (if any) he’ll participate in during the interim.

Here’s more from the American League to round out a quiet night:

• The Mariners’ offseason moves at the catching position are working out well in the early going, writes Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Free agent signee Chris Iannetta has been productive at the major league level, providing a consistent presence that the team lacked in 2015. Meanwhile, Mike Zunino — the young backstop of the past and, hopefully, the future — is off to a scorching start at Triple-A after struggling badly in the bigs last season. The success of the former is allowing the team to remain patient with the latter, and Divish says not to expect a quick call-up for the 25-year-old Zunino. (It’s worth bearing in mind, too, that Zunino entered the year with 2.084 years of service on his clock, meaning that Seattle could pick up an additional year of control if he stays down long enough.)
• The pre-season expectations of the Yankees’ pitching staff have largely been borne out in the regular season thus far, as George A. King III and Joel Sherman of the New York Post write in separate pieces. Both the depth and quality of the rotation remains a major concern, says King. And Sherman wonders whether the summer trade market will provide an avenue for the organization to add to the rotation mix while parting with one of Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, or Dellin Betances. While GM Brian Cashman says that “the plan is to have those three guys the whole way,” it’s something that the club has seriously considered before. Of course, pulling off such a deal with another contending team in the middle of a season would surely be a tricky proposition.