Report: Padres Scout 'Taking A Close Look' At Pablo Sandoval
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Red Sox have themselves a bit of a conundrum at third base, but might the San Diego Padres be willing to swoop in and fix it for them?
It remains a high hope, sure, but it's at least possible now, as The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo reported that the Padres have a scout in Fort Myers "taking a close look at Pablo Sandoval."
The Red Sox, of course, have been dealing with the difficulty of having Sandoval -- who batted .245 and was a mess defensively in his first season in Boston last year -- standing in the way of Travis Shaw, whose .353 average and .949 OPS this spring combined with his 13 homers in 65 MLB games makes him look like a much more appealing option in the starting lineup at third base.
Unloading a player like Sandoval, who has four years and $75 million remaining on his contract, is difficult. However, Cafardo noted that the Padres make sense as a partner because they're weak at third base, they tried hard to sign Sandoval prior to last season, and they have an albatross contract of their own in starting pitcher James Shields. The pitcher has three years and $65 million left on his deal, and the Padres may not be inclined to pay it, after he went 13-7 with a 3.91 ERA last year.
The pitching-thin Red Sox, meanwhile, might actually stand to improve a bit in their rotation by taking on Shields. In fact, given how low the Red Sox would be selling on Sandoval, they'd likely have to add in a prospect or eat a large chunk of Sandoval's contract -- or both. But it'd hard to say such a payment would not be worth it, if only to free up space on the left side of the infield.
It all may just be conjecture at this point, but the Padres' scout watching Sandoval makes it all a distinct possibility as the regular season draws near.