Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski did not reach for a euphemism or otherwise bend the language as he sat before a crowded interview room at Fenway Park on Friday afternoon.
The brutal truth was inescapable. The Red Sox had finally decided to get rid of third baseman Pablo Sandoval, designating him for assignment at what will be a cost of $48.3 million. There’s no spinning that.
“It really came down to us feeling that we were not a better club if he was on our club at the major league level,” Dombrowski said.
Boom.
In the end, Sandoval played himself off the roster with 2½ seasons of lethargic play. But young infielders Tzu-Wei Lin and Deven Marrero were the ones holding the exit door open.
Marrero moved into the lineup in mid-May and stabilized the position defensively. He also has improved as a hitter in recent weeks.
Lin arrived in late June and had since played seven games at third base, starting five. The 23-year-old has shown he can handle the position defensively and add a spark to the offense from the lower third of the order.
“I think it was made easier in the sense that Marrero and Lin made us, in our opinion, a better ball club,” Dombrowski said. “When you look at when we’ve taken off, it was with them playing at third base.”
Manager John Farrell seemed relieved.
“Trying to put the best team on the field every night to put us in the position to extend our season from where we stand today into October,” he said. “And we have acknowledged the performance of Lin and Marrero to date. You can’t deny their contributions and the way they helped impact the bottom third of the order. They have done a tremendous job defensively.
“Bottom line is Panda’s situation just didn’t work.”
At a cost of $95 million, Sandoval hit .237 with 14 homers and 59 RBIs over three seasons. He missed far more games (252) than he played (161) over the last three seasons.
The Sox have seven days to trade or release Sandoval. Dombrowski said he investigated the trade market and found no takers, even if the Red Sox picked up a significant part of Sandoval’s contract.
The Sox offered Sandoval an assignment with Triple A Pawtucket. He refused, as was his right.
Sandoval, who turns 31 next month, could sign with another team once he is released. The Sox would be responsible for all but the prorated minimum of his contract through 2018.
“You’re talking about a lot of money. I give ownership a lot of credit that they are willing to allow us to do this,” Dombrowski said. “It was a tough decision in that regard.”
Farrell termed the decision a “pretty loud statement.”
When the Sox signed Sandoval on Nov. 25, 2014, then-general manager Ben Cherington called him a “big winner” in the prime of his career.
The Sox needed a third baseman at the time and said Sandoval was the best fit. He had helped the San Francisco Giants to three World Series championships and that season had an .888 OPS in 17 playoff games.
The Giants made Sandoval a lucrative offer, but “The Panda” wanted a new challenge.
“Everything about him that we learned through our research suggested this is a guy who loves the game, loves to play, loves to win,” Cherington said.
None of that was true with the Sox. Sandoval struggled to stay in shape and only on rare occasions played well.
Sandoval had a career-worst .658 OPS in 2015, the switch-hitter getting so frustrated that he abandoned hitting from the right side. He also was suspended on June 18 of that season after being caught perusing photos of women on social media during a game in Atlanta.
Sandoval then reported to spring training in ’16 considerably heavier. He played only three games that season before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. On April 9 of that season, Sandoval’s belt broke apart while taking a swing in Toronto and the video went national.
“He had some issues he was dealing with that really didn’t probably get him in the shape that we would like,” Dombrowski said. “There was more to it that I won’t get into, private type of issues for him.”
It is known that Sandoval had a falling out with members of his family that contributed to his decline. But Sandoval reported to spring training in better condition this season and played well in Florida.
“I actually felt encouraged in spring training,” Dombrowski said. “Then once the season started, didn’t see the same performance. Particularly from a defensive perspective.”
Sandoval hit .213 before injuring his right knee in Baltimore on April 23 when he crouched down trying to catch a line drive.
Sandoval returned on May 31 and hit .211 over 15 games before the Sox placed him on the disabled list with what the team said was an inner ear infection.
Sandoval started a minor league rehabilitation assignment on June 27 and played in 13 games for Pawtucket. But he did not show enough to warrant a return to the majors, hitting .250 with two extra-base hits and 11 strikeouts in 52 at-bats.
Sandoval’s two lockers at Fenway Park were cleaned out by the afternoon.
“That’s baseball. I feel bad for him. He wanted it to be better,” Hanley Ramirez said. “But Marrero and Lin, they’ve been great. We know how it works.”
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @peteabe.