Red Sox's Patrick Sandoval Makes Priorities Clear Amid Trade Rumors

If you play for the Boston Red Sox, you'd better get used to hearing your name in trade rumors.

In addition to always playing in one of baseball's most active media markets, the Red Sox have had a remarkable degree of roster attrition over the last year-plus. This offseason, it seemed as though only three or four players were safe from the trade rumor machine, even if the Boston front office has ultimately opted to hold onto the players as part of the core.

There's one player, however, who the Red Sox might want to be getting a little more trade buzz than he already is, and that's left-handed starting pitcher Patrick Sandoval.

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Patrick Sandoval focused on helping Red Sox for now

Last offseason, the Red Sox signed Sandoval to a two-year, $18.25 million free-agent deal while he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Since then, the rotation has undergone some major facelifts, and Sandoval finds himself somewhere between sixth and ninth on the depth chart as spring training begins.

On Tuesday, in his first comments of the spring, Sandoval acknowledged that he's already hearing the noise about potential trades for the Red Sox to clear his salary off the books, but established his focus on only what he could control.

“I hear them but I can’t control it,” Sandoval said, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “I chose to sign here for a reason, because I wanted to pitch for this team and be a part of this team and help bring a championship back to Boston ... I can’t control it, so there’s nothing I can really do.”

Sandoval also acknowledged that the competition to join the rotation had gotten a lot tougher since he first joined the club, while adding that he knew what he was capable of against top-level competition and was "excited to show it again."

“I haven’t pitched in a year and a half. I don’t have a right to declare a spot in this rotation,” he said, per Cotillo. “The guys we brought in this offseason and the room we have with pitchers, it’s amazing. I think it’s going to bring a lot of healthy competition and hopefully bring out the best in everyone.”

In a way, it's a compliment to Sandoval that he could be considered a desirable trade candidate after a year and a half away from the mound. But sooner or later, he'd surely like some clarity on his situation, one way or another.

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