Pablo Sandoval Designated For Assignment

The Red Sox announced today that they have designated third baseman Pablo Sandoval for assignment. The team has 10 days to either trade or release Sandoval. (Sandoval is still due about $49 million on his contract, so a trade seems very unlikely.)

Boston signed Sandoval to a 5/95 contract in November 2014. It was a highly questionable decision at the time, as Sandoval's OPS had been in decline for four consecutive seasons with the Giants (.909, .789, .758, .739).

The decision turned out to be an utter disaster on every level. With the Red Sox in 2015, Sandoval's OPS sank like a rock: .658. He played in only three games in 2016. In 2017, he had an OPS of .622 in 35 games. And the less said about his play in the infield, the better.