Boston Red Sox Announce Travis Shaw Will Start At Third

The Boston Red Sox have announced that Travis Shaw will start the 2016 season as the starter at the third base, leaving Pablo Sandoval on the bench.

Boston Red Sox Manager John Farrell made headlines this morning when he announced that Third Baseman Travis Shaw will be the starter to begin the season over Pablo Sandoval. 25 year old Shaw hit .333 in spring training and had an OBP of .377 while Sandoval, 29 – hit just .244 with an OBP of .279.

With the season opener now only 4 days away, John Farrell was pressed to make a decision on who would be named the starter and he decided to choose the hot hand over the struggling veteran.

There is no debate as to whether or not Pablo Sandoval has lived up to his contract since signing a 5 year, 95 million dollar deal with the Red Sox prior to the 2015 season. In 126 games last year, Sandoval tallied career lows in almost every major batting category, including; AVG. (.245), HR’s (10), RBI’s (47), and Hits (117.)

While Sandoval has struggled, Shaw has flourished and proved that he is capable of playing at a high level. In only 226 at-bats last season, less than half of Sandoval’s total of 470, Shaw hit 13 homeruns and drove in 36 RBI’s. That success has carried over, as Shaw found himself as one of the teams’ most consistent hitters throughout the course of spring training.

Feb 24, 2016; Lee County, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox infielder Pablo Sandoval (48) talks with a teammate before the workout at Jet Blue Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports /

Although there have been mixed emotions from fans and experts as to who should be the starter for the Red Sox, it seems as if the team is in collective agreement. Sandoval admitted to Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald that “it’s the right decision to help the team win.” A surprising quote from a player very unfamiliar with being benched.

Shaw’s numbers, along with his abilities in the field clearly provide validation for the decision, but many around the Red Sox organization felt that Sandoval would get the starting job for the sole reason that he’s just getting paid too much money to sit on the bench. While that may be true, John Farrell clearly sees it differently.

Perhaps it was when Pablo first showed up at spring training looking out of shape and overweight, that John Farrell started leaning towards Shaw. After all, it can’t be very encouraging to a manager to see a lack of effort and motivation from a player before the season even starts. Or maybe it was when Farrell realized that if a player like Hanley Ramirez can put in the effort to learn a new position and get out of his comfort zone, there really isn’t an excuse for anybody else.