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UPDATE (6:30 PM PST): Despite not knowing exactly what's plaguing Sandoval, he is expected to miss the rest of the season.
MORE: Pablo Sandoval is expected to miss the remainder of the season. (via @MarlyRiveraESPN)
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 3, 2016
Well. After all the jokes, and all the speculation that Pablo Sandoval and the Red Sox were using the disabled list rather liberally, it turns out that the former All-Star was indeed hurt.
Sandoval to undergo surgery on left shoulder, #RedSox say.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 2, 2016
Putting a player that's not really hurt on the disabled list is one thing, but nobody ever schedules a surgery just to prove a point. There isn't a timetable for his return, but given that he's having shoulder surgery, it wouldn't be surprising to see Sandoval miss the rest of the 2016 season.
Since signing with the Red Sox, Sandoval has been an enormous disappointment. In parts of two seasons, he's slashed .242/.290/.361; nowhere near the player that hit .294/.346/.465 over the course of seven seasons with the Giants. His time in Boston has been plagued with questions surrounding his weight, and this time off could be exactly what he needs.
While Boston doesn't have a clause in Sandoval's contract that allows them to dictate a certain weight that he needs to stay under, the threat of not starting again might be enough to motivate the three-time World Series champion. If Sandoval can prove to the Red Sox that he's back to playing shape, his future might have to be as a DH due to the emergence of Travis Shaw.
Thus far, Shaw has backed up his eye opening 2015 campaign with an even better 2016 season. In 100 plate appearances this year, he's hitting .322/.390/.533 with a wOBA of .399 and a wRC+ of 159. He's already accumulated an fWAR of 1.0, and while his defensive metrics aren't glowing, he's still a tremendous upgrade over Sandoval's contributions at third.
This story will be updated once more information has been made available.