Brace for it: Sandoval restricted
HOUSTON — There’s not an excuse that will make up for the unsatisfactory caliber of defense Pablo Sandoval has played at third base since he returned to action.
But there could be an explanation.
Since being activated off the disabled list for his right knee sprain on May 30 in Chicago, Sandoval has been wearing a knee brace that stretches roughly halfway up his thigh and down to mid-calf.
To be clear, Sandoval has been cleared to play, so he should be able to play defense at a level that befits a starting third baseman. But clearly, it makes sense to point to the brace as a contributing factor to Sandoval’s inferior defense.
“I can’t say it’s been bothersome,” said manager John Farrell yesterday about Sandoval’s brace. “I do know this: I think any time — and we saw it with Jackie Bradley as well — any time a player is wearing a brace, there’s going to be some restriction. Whether it’s marked differences, but there’s going to be some. I mean, that’s what the brace does, it restricts you. So, to say that it’s cut down on his range or cut down on his overall mobility, that’s probably debatable. But still, I think there’s been some restriction.”
Bradley, who sustained a right knee sprain early in the season, wore the brace for more than five weeks. It did not appear to be a hindrance at all for Bradley’s defense in center field, but he said that it affected him at the plate. He also said that his offense improved after the brace was removed.
Sandoval returned to action on May 30. Given the timeline laid out by Farrell, it will be well into July before Sandoval can play without the brace.
“There’s typically been a six- to eight-week time frame,” for wearing a knee brace, said Farrell. “That’s what it was with Jackie’s where he was out roughly 10 days, had to wear it another (five) weeks I believe before he was free to remove it. Some of those are going to be case-by-case depending on the severity of the injury initially, but that’s the general time frame that we’re looking at.”
The brace is one reason why the team has stressed that it is willing to be patient when it comes to Sandoval’s disappointing level of play. He has lost his starting job, and justifiably so, but the team seems willing for now to play the long game with him and hope that the knee improves, becomes stronger and will eventually lead to much better defense. That may take until Sandoval is playing without a brace, a wait that seems almost endless.
In the meantime, the Red Sox are making do with Josh Rutledge at third base, a position that he is playing at a satisfactory level.
Even if the Red Sox want Sandoval to keep playing with the brace on a more regular basis, they were not going to let him start doing that here, against a team like the Astros that seldom strikes out.
“There’s greater range (with Rutledge at third),” said Farrell. “And as I mentioned prior to (Friday), this is a team that puts a lot of number of balls in play. As it played out (Friday) night, four or five of what you envision taking place, the balls that are chopped, there’s the potential for infield base hits, and we feel like the increased range is needed against this club particularly, and particularly on this surface.”