Boston Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval talked to reporters Sunday and insisted, in no uncertain terms, that losing weight wasn't a priority this offseason.
"I did my work to be an athlete on the field," he said, per Sean McAdam of CSN New England. "I didn't try to lose weight."
Sandoval continued to address questions about his weight, per McAdam:
Those claims contradicted remarks from the team's top brass, however, as Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe noted:
Sandoval, 29, had a disappointing season in 2015, hitting just .245 with 10 home runs and 47 RBI in 126 games. That wasn't the production the team was expecting when it signed him to a five-year, $95 million deal before last season.
Sandoval wasn't the only newcomer to disappoint, though, as Hanley Ramirez played poorly in the outfield and hit just .249, although he did add 19 home runs and 53 RBI. And the Red Sox struggled as a team, finishing last in the loaded AL East in a season rife with underachievement.
However, Boston has an intriguing blend of young talent in Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts to combine with veterans like Sandoval, Ramirez, David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia, so it will be expected to show improvement in 2016. Add in the addition of David Price to the rotation and Craig Kimbrel to the bullpen, and the Red Sox look like contenders, at least on paper.
But comeback years from players like Sandoval will be a major key to the team's success. Whether Sandoval was actively trying to lose weight or simply was trying to stay in shape is irrelevant. What will matter is if the work he did in the offseason translates into far more production than he offered in a very disappointing 2015 campaign.
You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments