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Pablo Sandoval

Padres Have Had Internal Talks About Trading For Pablo Sandoval

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The Padres have had internal discussions about the possibility of dealing for Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval, Jon Heyman tweets. (Via WEEI’s Rob Bradford, the Padres deny that there have been any substantive talks.) The Padres are not among the three teams to whom Sandoval can block a trade, Heyman adds. Sandoval is still owed $75MM through 2019, including a $5MM buyout on his 2020 option, so as Heyman notes, a deal to send Sandoval from the Padres to the Red Sox would likely include money to offset his contract.

The Red Sox recently named rookie Travis Shaw their starter at third base ahead of Sandoval, even though they’re only one year into Sandoval’s contract. The Padres, meanwhile, reportedly had a scout watching Sandoval, although it wasn’t clear how much interest they had in him or whether that scout might be watching someone else. The Padres had interest in Sandoval during their splashy 2014-15 offseason, reportedly offering Sandoval a nine-figure deal that exceeded the Red Sox’ offer in total value.

The Padres might now see Sandoval as presenting an opportunity to buy low, although it’s not clear whether Sandoval is an upgrade over current Padres third baseman Yangervis Solarte. Solarte hit .270/.320/.428 last season and projects to produce 1.6 fWAR, via ZiPS. Sandoval, meanwhile, batted .245/.292/.366 and projects to produce 0.9 fWAR (although another projection system, Steamer, rates him as being likely to produce half a win better than that). Sandoval would seem to be a curious addition for a Padres team that was badly burned by veteran additions two winters ago and now seems more focused on trading high-profile veterans rather than on adding them.

There’s been some speculative conversation about a trade that could send Sandoval to San Diego and James Shields to Boston, and a Sandoval/Shields framework might make some sense, at least on a purely financial level — the Padres still owe Shields $65MM on the deal he signed with them last offseason. While Shields’ home-run-heavy first year with the Padres was merely a relatively small disappointment, though, Sandoval’s first year with Boston was a disaster, so the two players’ current values seem somewhat different.

Quick Hits: Shields, Sandoval, Cardinals, Astros, Twins

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On the notion of the Padres trading right-hander James Shields to the Red Sox for benched third baseman Pablo Sandoval, one scout told Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, “James Shields is not good in Fenway Park in his career. Some people think he’s a National League pitcher at this point of his career. But it’s one fewer year (on his contract) than Sandoval. I think Sandoval would be better off outside of Boston. I think he’s been eaten whole there. That trade actually would make some sense.” Both players are coming off down seasons, albeit Shields was easily the more valuable of the two in 2015. Shields, 34, exceeded the 200-inning barrier for the ninth straight year and set a career high with a 9.61 K/9, but he also logged personal worsts in BB/9 (3.6) and FIP (4.45) to accompany a mediocre 3.91 ERA. Sandoval is a half-decade younger (29), though that plus is offset by a well-known weight problem and the fact that he had the worst fWAR in baseball in 2015 (-2.0). Moreover, the two carry undesirable financial commitments. Shields is due $60MM over the next three years, though he can opt out and become a free agent after next season. That would mean leaving $44MM on the table, however. Sandoval, meanwhile, is owed $70MM through 2019. Both players’ deals have expensive club options at the end that their respective teams surely won’t exercise, which will lead to buyouts ($2MM for Shields in 2019, $5MM for Sandoval in 2020).

More from around the majors. . .

  • With president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski in charge, the Red Sox are a meritocracy when it comes to putting together a roster, as Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes. That was evident in the team’s decision to relegate Sandoval, whom it signed just a year ago, in favor of Travis Shaw at the hot corner. The Dombrowski-led Red Sox began the trend of valuing performance over contract when they elected last summer to end the short-lived, disastrous experiment of Hanley Ramirez in left field, Speier notes. “My focus is on the guys that are in uniform, not what’s attached to them or what their contract states,” manager John Farrell said. “We’re all about evaluating and what’s best for our team.”
  • The Astros have informed left-hander Wandy Rodriguez that he will not crack their Opening Day Roster, tweets Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle. Rodriguez, who inked a minor league accord with the Astros in the offseason, had been competing with James Hoyt and Michael Feliz for the final spot in the team’s bullpen. Rodriguez had an opt-out in his contract for last Saturday, per Evan Drellich of the Chronicle. With that deadline having passed, it’s unclear what the immediate future will hold for Rodriguez, but he could end up on the market and in search of a major league deal elsewhere. “Let me see what happens if somebody picks me (up),” he told Drellich.
  • The Cardinals aren’t looking for outside help at shortstop in the wake of Ruben Tejada’s injury, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Instead, the Redbirds will at least wait until they have a better understanding of Tejada’s status. He’ll start the season on the disabled list with a muscle strain in his left quadriceps, leaving Jedd Gyorko and Greg Garcia as the Cardinals’ options at the major league level. They also have Aledmys Diaz of Triple-A Memphis as a potential call-up.
  • Nick Burdi, the Twins’ best relief pitching prospect, is “out indefinitely” with right forearm tightness and will begin the season on the DL, reports LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune. Of course, forearm injuries sometimes portend Tommy John surgery. Burdi, who’s capable of hitting 99 on the radar gun, threw three scoreless spring innings for the Twins. The 23-year-old tossed 63 2/3 innings at multiple minor league levels last season and pitched to a 3.82 ERA with an 11.7 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9.
  • Right-hander Roberto Hernandez is drawing interest from teams that want to sign him to a minor league contract, but he’s holding out for a major league deal, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. Hernandez, 35, opted out of his deal with Toronto earlier this week after the club didn’t add him to its active roster. In 84 2/3 innings last year with Houston, Hernandez worked to a 4.36 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.
  • Lefty reliever Wesley Wright has garnered multiple Triple-A offers, per Cotillo (Twitter link). Wright, whom Arizona released Monday, has thrown 371 innings of 4.16 ERA ball to accompany an 8.6 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in his major league career. Those mediocre numbers belie his success versus left-handed batters, who have hit a paltry .234/.313/.334 against Wright.

Red Sox Name Travis Shaw As Starting Third Baseman, Pablo Sandoval To Bench

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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.

AL Notes: Panda, Rangers, Sanchez, White, Angels

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The Padres have sent a scout to watch Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. It’s far from clear whether that is an indication of serious interest, of course, let alone whether the scout is watching more than just Sandoval. Regardless, it’s the latest hint that there could be some remaining trade chatter to be held between these organizations, who already struck a significant swap early in the offseason.

Here’s more from the eastern divisions:

  • The Rangers are not only continuing their search for another catcher, but could look outside the organization for rotation help, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. A.J. Griffin may have the inside track to take the fifth starter’s job at present, says Grant, but there’s some concern about the overall starting pitching depth as camp comes to a close. As for the backstop situation, it doesn’t appear that much has changed, but Texas is still looking to improve upon its reserve options — if not to strike a more significant upgrade. (Grant notes that the club has inquired on Derek Norris of the Padres and Bryan Holaday of the Tigers.)
  • Of course, interest doesn’t always mean that a deal gets done, and significant spring trades are rare. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also reports that the Rangers have real interest in both areas (Twitter links), but he says the club thinks it has only an “outside chance” at adding a catcher and is “doubtful” to find a new pitcher. All in all, both reports suggest that Texas is looking at its options but is hardly certain to add outside pieces. And still others suggest there’s not much reason to expect movement. Jeff Wilson of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram tweets that outside inquiries have mostly been tire-kicking exercises, while MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan adds on Twitter that club officials have suggested to him that the final rotation piece will come from inside the organization.
  • Reclamation righty Matt Bush isn’t in the mix for an Opening Day pen spot with the Rangers, Grant also writes, but he has been enormously impressive this spring and could be an option later in the season. Bush’s story is well-known, of course — the former first overall draft pick recently finished a prison term for severely injuring a man in a DUI.
  • Aaron Sanchez has been named as the Blue Jays’ fifth starter, manager John Gibbons told reporters (including John Lott of Blue Jays Nation) this morning.  It won’t be a season-long assignment for Sanchez, however, as the righty seems to be under an innings cap and will eventually be transitioned into the bullpen as he approaches his limit.  The 23-year-old has never thrown more than 133 1/3 innings in a season.  Sanchez and Gavin Floyd emerged as the top two contenders for the fifth starter’s job during camp, and Floyd will join Jesse Chavez in the bullpen while Drew Hutchison has been optioned to Triple-A.  It stands to reason that Floyd, Chavez or Hutchison will all be rotation candidates when Sanchez is moved back to relief pitching.
  • The Astros have decided to give an Opening Day roster spot to young first baseman Tyler White, as Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports. Houston’s first-base situation has been in flux all spring, but it appears that the 33rd-round draftee is in line for a significant opportunity to take the position and run with it. He is one of several players in the organization who have impressed this spring; third base prospect Colin Moran has also compiled a 1.000+ OPS in more than thirty plate appearances, though Drellich notes on Twitter that he’s not considered a roster option at this point. The same holds true of A.J. Reed, of course, who could also have a chance to make an impact later in the season.
  • Angels GM Billy Eppler says that he is “not optimistic” of adding to his roster before the season starts, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports. Gonzalez provides a deep rundown of the club’s remaining roster considerations.

Red Sox Notes: Sandoval, Shaw, Dombrowski

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The Red Sox aren’t “actively looking” for pitching help, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

“Can you always be better? Sure. Will we always be open-minded? Sure. But we’re not actively looking for pitching,” said Dombrowski, who added that he doesn’t “even know where” he would slot a No. 2 starter type.

Here’s more out of the AL East:

  • The fact that there is a real competition between Travis Shaw and Pablo Sandoval at third base is a reminder of exactly how Dombrowski runs the Red Sox and how much control he exerts over the team, Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald writes.  For his part, Sandoval is trying to play down the attention that the brewing competition is getting.  “Every day is a competition — every single day, every moment. Every guy competes to be better and better,” Sandoval said. “I don’t know why you guys make a big deal. Every guy is here working hard to make the team look better, win games. Every guy here is working together to be better and better, so that’s good.”
  • Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe laid out the pros and cons of benching Sandoval in favor of Shaw.  On one hand, putting Sandoval on the bench would send a clear message to players like Rick Porcello, Hanley Ramirez, and Rusney Castillo that a high-priced contract does not guarantee your place as a starter.  On the other hand, Sandoval is the type of player that needs support to succeed rather than negativity.  Also, Sandoval probably wouldn’t be much of a contributor off the bench and would likely be relegated to pinch-hitting against righties, Abraham writes.
  • Indeed, Dombrowski says that he does not believe that contracts should dictate spots in the lineup, as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com writes. “I thought it was important, because I’m new here, that that was my philosophy, and our philosophy as an organization, that I had a chance to visit with [principal owner] John Henry and [chairman] Tom Werner and know they supported that. I thought it was important to do that. I think for good organizations, and clubs that are trying to win, you need to play the best guys to win,” Dombrowski said.
  • Earlier today, the Red Sox announced that reliever Carson Smith will be placed on the disabled list due to a strain of his flexor mass muscle.

Red Sox Notes: Castillo, Sandoval, Shaw, Moncada, Kelly

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Rusney Castillo needs to improve against hard fastballs, writes Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Last season, the Red Sox outfielder hit just .203/.230/.203 against fastballs of 93 mph or harder. The weak performance is doubly damning because the AL East is populated with plenty of hard throwing hurlers. If Castillo can’t figure out how to barrel up more heaters, he’ll find his playing time dwindling. Fortunately, Castillo and the Red Sox aren’t without hope. Speier highlights Jackie Bradley Jr. who went from one of the worst against hard fastballs in 2014 to one of the best in 2015 (.333/.439/.745). The small sample sizes involved along with other factors can complicate the surface level analysis of these numbers.

Here’s more from Boston:

  • Travis Shaw’s hot play this spring is putting pressure on third baseman Pablo Sandoval, writes Ian Browne of MLB.com. Shaw “could be competing for regular at-bats,” per manager John Farrell. Sandoval is more likely to lose time than Hanley Ramirez. Farrell also commented on Sandoval, saying “the work has to translate to performance.” Shaw is expected to spend some time in left field as well, which could put pressure on Castillo instead.
  • Prospect Yoan Moncada is a good test case of the Red Sox position switching protocol, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. While Moncada is unlikely to play much second base at the big league level due to the presence of Dustin Pedroia (just ask Mookie Betts), the club won’t move a prospect to a new position until they prove proficiency at their base spot. That usually occurs at Double- or Triple-A. It’s possible Moncada’s bat will be big league ready by the end of this season, but he still has a number of developmental hurdles to overcome – in part due to the presence of Pedroia. It’s worth noting, Pedroia is signed through 2021 with a limited no trade clause.
  • Throwing more breaking balls may be the key to success for Joe Kelly, writes Sean McAdam of CSN New England. That was the change he made prior to a strong eight start finish to the 2015 season. With Eduardo Rodriguez set to miss the start of the season, Kelly’s success could save the club from being forced to make a trade.

Pablo Sandoval Joins Beverly Hills Sports Council

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Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval has changed agents, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). The veteran will now be represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Sandoval, 29, is entering the second season of a five-year, $95MM deal signed last winter. He had spent his entire career to that point with the Giants organization.

That first year in Boston certainly did not go as planned, as he ended the campaign with a career-worst .245/.292/.366 slash and ten home runs over 505 plate appearances. With poor marks for his defense and baserunning factored in, Sandoval was one of the game’s worst everyday players.

Of course, there’s plenty of reason to believe a turnaround is possible. After all, Sandoval carried a .294/.346/.465 batting line in over 3,000 plate appearances as a Giant. And while defensive metrics have wavered somewhat on his value with the glove, he was no worse than average in the aggregate and certainly never had a a season as lightly-regarded as 2015.

Regardless of how things go, Sandoval will be under contractual control with the Red Sox through at least the 2019 campaign (unless, of course he’s dealt). His deal also includes a team option for 2020.

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Quick Hits: Free Agents, Blue Jays, Hendriks

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This year’s offseason has moved much more slowly than last year’s did, possibly suggesting that teams are becoming more cautious in free agency, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman suggests. There are other possible explanations, he notes, including that the strong free agent market has teams concerned about jumping to sign one free agent only to find a similar player willing to sign for less at a later date. Another possibility is that many teams’ new presidents of baseball operations are pulling back on the reins a bit. But there’s also the fact that many deals that were consummated by this point last year — including big contracts for Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval, Victor Martinez, Michael Cuddyer and Adam LaRoche — now look like potential busts. Here are more quick notes from around the game.

  • After their signing of J.A. Happ (as well as their re-signing of Marco Estrada and trade for Jesse Chavez), the Blue Jays will continue pursuing starting pitching, interim GM Tony LaCava says, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (Twitter links). LaCava declined to comment on free agent starter David Price.
  • Former Blue Jay Liam Hendriks, who headed to the Athletics for Chavez, says he anticipates a bigger role in Oakland, Jeff Simmons of Sportsnet notes. “I think it’ll be a good stepping stone to become a set-up, closer type and as a reliever that’s where you want to be,” Hendriks said last week on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “With (Roberto) Osuna, (Aaron) Sanchez and (Brett) Cecil it would’ve been tough to get there with Toronto because they got three guys that can do both of those roles.” Hendriks, incidentally, says better health was one reason he improved in Toronto, blossoming from the struggling starter he was in Minnesota to a top-notch reliever. (He also credits Jays catchers Russell Martin and Dioner Navarro.)  “I was never unhealthy per se. But I ate a bit cleaner and stopped drinking,” he says. “I never drank too much to begin with but I stopped completely… I did a lot my lower-body and shoulders work in the gym. Everything played a part.”

Cafardo’s Latest: Royals, Parra, Bradley, Hanley

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The Royals feel that Ben Zobrist might re-sign with the team but Alex Gordon “is likely gone,” the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo writes in his weekly notes column.  With a possible hole to fill in left field, Cafardo reports that the Royals are considering free agent outfielder Gerardo Parra.  Kansas City is more concerned with defense than offense in replacing Gordon, so Parra’s hitting (which has never been his strong suit, apart from a BABIP-fueled outburst in the first half of 2015) may not be a major issue for the Royals.  Here’s some more from Cafardo…

  • The Royals, Cubs and Mariners were all reported to have interest in Jackie Bradley last week, and Cafardo adds the Mets and “perhaps the Nationals” to the list of teams checking in on the Red Sox outfielder.  Despite all this trade buzz, Bradley may remain in Boston since baseball ops president Dave Dombrowski has long had interest in Bradley himself, even exploring acquiring him from the Sox when Dombrowski was the Tigers’ general manager.  Dombrowski has already implied that the Sox may be through with big trades for young talent in the wake of shipping four prospects to San Diego for Craig Kimbrel, which would mean that Bradley could indeed be staying put at Fenway Park.
  • An NL general manager doesn’t think the Red Sox can get through the 2016 season without parting ways with at least one of Hanley Ramirez or Pablo Sandoval.  Dealing either for value looks to be near impossible since both players have large contracts and are coming off rough seasons, but “sometimes you have to cut your losses.  A big-market team like Boston can do that,” the GM said.  “They have to decide whether having those two players in their clubhouse, in what is otherwise a young, accountable clubhouse, is worth it. You don’t want players tearing down what you’re trying to build. So whatever method was used to acquire those players didn’t work. So now you have to have your own chemistry lesson and determine if you can live with those guys. I would think they’d try to move one or both.”
  • Tigers GM Al Avila is upgrading the club’s analytics department from one full-time employee to three, as well as interns and some outside consultants.
  • The Braves talked to Chris Iannetta’s agents before re-signing A.J. Pierzynski to fill their need at catcher.  Iannetta has been linked to the Mariners in recent days, though there have been conflicting reports as to exactly how close he is to joining the M’s.

East Notes: Sandoval, Ramirez, Red Sox, Phillies,

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We discussed the West earlier tonight. Here’s the latest from the East:

  • Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval is expected to miss the rest of the season with pneumonia, writes John Tomase of WEEI.com. This comes just a couple days after fellow offseason signee Hanley Ramirez was shut down for the year with a shoulder injury. Sandoval hit .245/.292/.366 on the year with 43 runs scored and 47 RBI. Ramirez managed just .249/.291/.426 with 59 runs and 53 RBI. Advanced metrics labelled both players as terrible defenders this season (Sandoval at least has a history of solid defense). Undoubtedly, the pair was expected to produce about twice as many runs with passable defense. Had they performed to those expectations, Boston’s 6.5 game deficit in the Wild Card race could be a lead.
  • Boston has three potential candidates to man first base in 2016, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. The club plans to train Ramirez at the position after he failed to adjust to the outfield. Undoubtedly, Red Sox personnel hope first base can help Ramirez to stay healthy. The other internal option is Travis Shaw. He’s done enough to earn another look after hitting .282/.348/.511 with 11 home runs over 210 plate appearances. Shaw, 25, was never a highly touted prospect. The team may prefer to use him as depth. If they’re uncomfortable with Ramirez and Shaw, they could always dig into the coffers for Chris Davis. Personally, I expect any big free agent investments to be in the rotation.
  • The Phillies have their own first base conundrum to solve, writes Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer. They anticipate an influx of talent next season, but first base will probably remain a time share between Ryan Howard and Darin Ruf. Howard will be in the final guaranteed season of a five-year, $125MM extension. Previous attempts to swap him to the junior circuit have turned up zero trading partners. Howard still hits well against right-handed pitchers while Ruf handles southpaws with aplomb. The platoon has combined for about -1 WAR this season, but they’ve also bashed a combined 33 home runs with 78 runs and 108 RBI in 766 plate appearances. That’s roughly a third of the team’s run production. Clearly, they can have some value to the club so long as they avoid same-handed pitchers.
  • Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond is frustrated with his 2015 season, he tells Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Desmond, 30, is by far the top shortstop entering free agency, but he’s coming off his first below average offense campaign since 2011. Desmond hit just .232/.286/.382 on the year. When asked if he would accept a qualifying offer, Desmond hinted it was possible.
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