The Red Sox' decision to cut ties with Pablo Sandoval primarily revolves around the third baseman's inability to produce in his two-plus seasons in Boston, but the play of two players made the choice a little easier to swallow.
Deven Marrero and Tzu-Wei Lin were not on the radar when the Red Sox came out of spring training. The team was confident that Sandoval, who missed all but three games last season, would bounce back to resemble the player they thought they signed to a $95 million contract. And the Sox had other options if things didn't work out with him.