For Travis Shaw, wrestling the Opening Day start at third base away from Pablo Sandoval was the easy part. Keeping the job could prove considerably more challenging.
Just ask Will Middlebrooks.
A quick refresher on recent Boston Red Sox third basemen: Middlebrooks replaced veteran Kevin Youkilis midway through the 2012 season and hit 15 home runs in his first 267 big league at-bats. He batted fifth on Opening Day in 2013 and slugged three homers in the season's sixth game, at Toronto. But injuries and an inability to adapt to changing pitching patterns reduced Middlebrooks to 15 homers and a .587 OPS through the end of 2014, prompting the Red Sox to dump him in a trade for backup catcher Ryan Hanigan and take the five-year, $95 million free-agent plunge for Sandoval before last season.
Sandoval took the idea of being fat and happy a bit too literally, packing more pounds onto his already famously rotund frame and enduring the worst all-around season of his career in 2015. An underwhelming spring training seemed to confirm manager John Farrell's concerns that Kung Fu Panda's expanding waistline has contributed to diminished range and agility at third base.
And so, on Thursday, Farrell announced Sandoval will ride the bench Monday in Cleveland in favor of Shaw, a 25-year-old former ninth-round draft pick making $515,000 this year, whose production through 65 big league games (.270/.327/.487, 13 homers in 226 at-bats) is eerily similar to Middlebrooks' at the same point in his career (.301/.331/.525, 13 homers in 236 at-bats).
Talk about coming full circle.
Speaking to reporters before the Red Sox's final spring training game in Fort Myers, Florida, Shaw said he always believed he could win a spot in the Opening Day lineup -- "It was real to me," he said -- even though he appeared to be blocked at both third base and first base by Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, the "Gold Bust Twins" who before last season signed contracts that totaled $183 million.
There's no denying that Shaw outplayed Sandoval in spring training. Defensively, it was no contest, even though Shaw hasn't been an everyday third baseman since college at Kent State. Sandoval committed four errors in his first 11 games and missed nearly a week when he developed a stiff lower back after making a diving stop March 22 against the Miami Marlins.
Still, Farrell most likely would have sided with Sandoval last year and certainly would have in 2014. In the past, he has been fiercely loyal to veterans and unfailingly protective of his players. But after back-to-back last-place finishes, there may not be a manager under more pressure than Farrell, who will pay with his job if the Red Sox have another lousy April. Former general manager Ben Cherington was responsible for signing Sandoval, and new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has given Farrell the freedom to dole out playing time based on performance, not contract status.
It's clear, then, that choosing Shaw over Sandoval was strictly about performance. And if Shaw falters early in the season (he entered the Grapefruit League finale in a 1-for-19 funk), Farrell is sure to call on Sandoval as quickly as he turned away from him -- and much faster than he abandoned Middlebrooks, who received nearly two seasons' worth of rope before finally hanging himself.
"My focus is on the guys that are in uniform, not what's attached to them or what their contract states," Farrell told reporters. "We're all about evaluating and what's best for our team -- not so much the better player, but what's best for our team at the moment for us to begin the season. I think the important thing here is that this is a starting point."
It's worth wondering, though, if the Sox really are better with Shaw and super-utilityman Brock Holt in the everyday lineup. Holt figures to start in left field against most right-handed pitchers, leaving the Red Sox with an expensive bench (Sandoval will make $17 million this year, while outfielder Rusney Castillo has a $10.5 million salary) and limited versatility. Sandoval, in particular, has started at least 100 games at third base in seven consecutive seasons, and considering his defensive shortcomings, is useful off the bench only as a pinch-hitter.
"The challenge for us will be to carve out his role," Farrell said, "to keep him in the flow as best as possible."
And the challenge for Shaw will be to avoid the same fate as Middlebrooks, who looked like a future star only to flame out with both the Red Sox and San Diego Padres and crash-land back in Triple-A this year with the Milwaukee Brewers.
"You've got to continue to prove yourself," Shaw said. "You're never done proving yourself in this game. I'm not going to take this opportunity and this thing for granted. I'm going to try to keep my foot on the pedal and kind of run with this, and hopefully it's mine for a long period of time."
