Red Sox place Sandoval on 10-day DL with right knee sprain

The Red Sox have put third baseman Pablo Sandoval on the 10-day disabled list with a right knee sprain, the team announced on Twitter.

Sandoval’s injury, which occurred during the Sox’s 6-2 win over the Orioles while he was trying to stop a ground ball, is retroactive to Monday. In a corresponding move, they activated infielder Josh Rutledge from the DL to fill Sandoval’s spot.

Sandoval is still trying to prove he is a worthy bat in the Sox’s lineup after signing a five-year, $95 million deal back in 2015. He has only hit .238/.287/.363 in 579 plate appearances over the course of 146 games with the club. He missed the 2016 campaign after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum.

This season, Sandoval leads Boston with three home runs and is second on the team in RBI with 10. However, he is slashing only .213/.269/.377 and has struck out 13 times.

Sandoval’s injury is another big hit to the Sox’s infield. All Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts is playing with a sore left thumb, All Star second baseman Dustin Pedroia has missed the past two games with a sore left ankle and left knee, and infielder Brock Holt is on the DL with vertigo.

The Sox hope Rutledge and Marco Fernandez can play well while Sandoval is on the sidelines. Rutledge, who is coming off a hamstring injury that put him on the DL at the end of spring training, only went 1-for-12 during a minor-league rehab assignment. As for Hernandez, he is batting .286 in 13 games for Boston this year.