Sandoval shows off his charm
FORT MYERS — When Pablo Sandoval is in a good mood, his energy can awaken even the sleepiest of players.
That was the case yesterday, as Sandoval arrived at JetBlue Park in good spirits and brought life to the field, laughing with teammates during a morning throwing session as he introduced himself to new faces down the right field line.
Sandoval then took swings from both sides of the plate during an informal batting practice session thrown by assistant hitting coach Victor Rodriguez. He left shortly afterward. “I’ll talk to you guys next week,” Sandoval said. “I’m about to go to Miami.”
Jackie Bradley Jr., who hit with Sandoval, shared his thoughts on the Red Sox third baseman.
“He’s great,” Bradley said. “I mean, I’ve seen him before he was headed over to Miami and he looked great then when I was working out here. I’m glad to see his smile and his energy back. You can tell he has a chip on his shoulder. I love that.”
Sandoval missed nearly the entire 2016 season recovering from shoulder surgery. Getting healthy was more than just letting his shoulder recover. The Red Sox made it a priority to get him in better shape. Sandoval moved to Fort Myers and, aside from a month-long trip to Europe, checked in with team employees at their training facility “basically every day,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said earlier this offseason.
Sandoval clearly looked more svelte, and appears to have lost some, if not a substantial amount of weight.
“I’m not amazed just because I know how hard he worked,” Bradley said. “He’s really put in the work. He’s been very consistent with it. He’s been honest. What more can you ask from a guy that is coming here every day? He’s getting his routine done. And he’s getting it done at home, too.”
The 30-year-old Sandoval is committed to switchhitting again after giving up on the idea during his first season in Boston. He hit just .245 with a .658 OPS in 2015 and lost his job to Travis Shaw last spring when he was slow on defense. He did not have a strong performance at the plate either, swinging too aggressively in the eyes of manager John Farrell.
His competition at third comes from utility infielders Brock Holt, a roster lock,
Josh Rutledge and Marco Hernandez.
Farrell warned last month that Sandoval would have to earn his playing time.
“It’s a huge motivator,” Bradley said. “There are going to be people doubting you. Even if you’re Mike
Trout, there are people doubting you, too. It doesn’t matter. You still have to go out there and believe in yourself. That’s what it all boils down to. You have to believe in yourself before the outside people can. You focus on that. Focus on getting better.
“Don’t let the outside distractions bother you. Just continue to work.” Ortiz keeps flexing
David Ortiz posted a video doing biceps curls on the day of the Patriots Super Bowl parade. One former teammate thinks Ortiz might consider a comeback though it’s unlikely.
“I don’t think so,” Bradley said. “I trust a man at his word. He seems very content, very happy. He’s been doing it for a long time. He’s been very successful. I think he wants to relax. Obviously they always say you get that itch again. And maybe he will. But I think he’s very much happy with his decision.” Anchors aweigh For the second straight year the Red Sox will play exhibition games on the road two days before the regular season begins.
The Red Sox will travel from Fort Myers to Maryland to play the Washington Nationals twice, first on March 31 at Nationals Park and the next day at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.
Tickets to the Annapolis game will not be available to the public but distributed complimentary to Naval Academy midshipmen and select members of the U.S. Navy.
Tickets to the game at Nationals Park go on sale Feb. 9.