Red Sox Keeping Pablo Sandoval In Minors 'For The Time Being'
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- One might assume that because the Red Sox are paying Pablo Sandoval $17 million this year, the team would like him to be playing for Boston and not Triple-A Pawtucket.
One would be assuming wrong.
Sox manager John Farrell told the media Sunday that the team would not be activating Sandoval from the disabled list before departing for a 10-game road trip that begins on Monday. That's despite Sandoval playing in six games already for the PawSox.
"He's going to stay with Pawtucket for the time being and continue to get at-bats and innings under his belt," Farrell said of Sandoval. "He's making progress. He's in the midst of getting his timing going at the plate. For right now, he'll stay with Pawtucket."
The fact that Sandoval has batted just .143 (3-for-21) in his rehab work has likely given the Red Sox some pause on the activation. Farrell made a somewhat cryptic statement -- Sandoval "didn't say he was not ready" -- to lend credence to that possibility.
Sandoval played in 17 big league games to start the year, batting just .213 with a .646 OPS before suffering a knee sprain. The Red Sox have been scrambling to fill the spot at third base, losing Brock Holt and Marco Hernandez to injuries. Deven Marrero has been on the job most recently, though he's currently maintaining a sub-.200 batting average.
With 113 games remaining on the season, and with Sandoval not activated for the Chicago series, Sandoval is likely to play roughly 120 games for Boston in a best-case scenario. He played in just three games in 2016, so on a per-game basis, he's made more than $1.1 million per game played over the past 14 months. On Monday afternoon, he'll be with the PawSox to take on the Durham Bills at McCoy Stadium.
