CHICAGO — Pablo Sandoval’s rocky second season with the Boston Red Sox was cut short by shoulder surgery on Tuesday.
Sandoval had a torn labrum repaired by Dr. James Andrews in Florida, and the estimated recovery time for the slugger is six months. He was placed on the disabled list in April with a strained left shoulder, but it was unclear when the injury occurred.
Sandoval left San Francisco for a $95 million, five-year contract with Boston in November 2014. Dave Dombrowski, who became the president of baseball operations for the Red Sox in August, said the team was aware of issues with Sandoval’s labrum when it signed him.
"But, as you can see, the Giants tried to sign him at that time," Dombrowski said. "So there wasn’t any thought process that this would develop. It happens. I don’t really know what happened that one day he woke up and he couldn’t lift up his shoulder. But that was really the first indication."
Sandoval helped the Giants to World Series titles in 2010, ’12 and’14, but the third baseman has struggled since joining the Red Sox.
In his first year with Boston, he posted career lows with a .245 batting average, 10 homers and 47 RBIs. Then he reported to spring training visibly overweight and lost his starting job to Travis Shaw.
"He had been following a pretty extensive workout routine prior to the surgery and was doing a great job and probably addressing some of the needs that were there," manager John Farrell said before Boston’s game at the Chicago White Sox. "I think if there’s a so-called re-set button to push, we’ll work with him to make sure we take advantage of the time."
The 29-year-old Sandoval appeared in three games this season, going 0 for 6 with four strikeouts and committing an error in the field. Dombrowski said the team will closely monitor his rehab routine.
"We’ll have our eyes on him on a continual basis," he said. "I can’t say somebody will be there all the time, but quite regularly."
