Report: Red Sox are ‘encouraged’ by Pablo Sandoval’s conditioning

Pablo Sandoval has been on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, and there has been speculation that he has no chance of getting his job back even when he is cleared to return. If the third baseman loses some weight, he might have a shot.

According to a report from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports earlier this month, the Red Sox have no intention of giving Sandoval significant playing time until he is in better physical shape. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com is now reporting that Sandoval has been hit with no such weight mandate, and the Red Sox are actually pleased with his conditioning approach.

Contrary to a Yahoo! Sports report that the team told Sandoval it had “no intention of playing him unless he loses weight,” according to a major league source, there has been no such directive. The Red Sox have been monitoring Sandoval’s progress while on the 15-day disabled list, and have been encouraged by his approach — and results — the last two weeks.

When Sandoval first went on the DL, most people didn’t even think his injury was a real thing. However, Bradford notes that Sandoval has had some issues with his right shoulder since 2011 that the Red Sox were aware of when they signed him. Also, Sandoval has been seeing Dr. James Andrews for treatment.

One thing that is really working against Sandoval is that Travis Shaw, the man who was named the starting third basemen over Pablo to begin the season, is hitting .324 with a pair of homers and 14 RBI in just 20 games. There’s no reason to take the starting job away from Shaw at this point.

A lot has been made of Sandoval’s weight issues this season. A man who used to train with him says the World Series MVP has a serious eating disorder and needs a babysitter. Then there was the story about the San Francisco Giants banning him from ordering room service.

It’s hard to imagine Sandoval’s contract not turning out to be a total disaster.