Pablo Sandoval

Lost in the shuffle of the Boston Red Sox's winter-meetings activity is the return of Pablo Sandoval to the lineup after he appeared in just three games last season.

Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval hasn't lived up to the expectations of his big contract and could be on the move because of that. 

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First off, let's get this out of the way: There will be no fat jokes.

The Boston Red Sox announced Monday that third baseman Pablo Sandoval will have surgery on his left shoulder, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.com.

The team has yet to provide a timetable for Sandoval's return. However, the Boston Globe's Pete Abraham reported the prognosis may not be good:

From the ashes of every tragedy, something good can arise.

It's still too soon to call Pablo Sandoval's Boston Red Sox career a tragedy. But it's past time to call Travis Shaw something good.

Since being thrust into the spotlight by Sandoval's embarrassing benching and subsequent injury issues, Shaw has emerged from obscurity to become a budding star for Boston.

Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval lost his starting job entering the 2016 season due in large part to weight issues, and the two-time All Star's former trainer attributes it to an eating problem.

When the Boston Red Sox signed Pablo Sandoval in the winter of 2014, their hope was surely that he would take his game to new heights.

Instead, Sandoval has gone down, down and down some more. And on Thursday morning, you could practically hear the THUD of him hitting bottom.

Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell announced Thursday that Travis Shaw has won the starting job at third base over Pablo Sandoval. 

Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe passed along word of the decision from Farrell, who met with both players Thursday morning to inform them of the decision.

Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval is coming off a disappointing 2015 season and is battling with Travis Shaw to be the team's starting option at the position, making Sandoval potentially expendable. 

Continue for updates.

Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval spoke Wednesday about recent criticism regarding his weight after he reported to spring training.

Barstool Sports' Jared Carrabis sent the Internet into a frenzy after he shared this photo from the Boston Globe: