Pablo Sandoval looks lean and mean in new training video

The photo of a slimmed-down Pablo Sandoval that surfaced during the Winter Meetings was not a photoshop or an illusion. It was the very real result of Sandoval’s hard work since undergoing shoulder surgery in April. Work that continues right now as the veteran third baseman looks to reclaim his career, his job with the Boston Red Sox and his status as one of baseball’s best pure hitters.

In case there was any lingering doubt, Sandoval afforded us a glimpse into his rigorous workout regimen on Friday through a series of live videos on Instagram.

Unfortunately, those videos are not available to be shared directly, but some savvy fans caught their own videos and screenshots, allowing us to witness the leaner and meaner “Panda” in action.

Is Pablo Sandoval finally dedicated to trimming down and staying in shape? It would appear so based on the evidence, but this jury is going to wait as long as possible before making a final decision.

Long story short, we’ve reached these peak conditioning moments with Sandoval before many a times. As we noted when this winter’s photo first surfaced, Sandoval was reportedly trending in the right direction last winter, only to show up at camp out of shape.

Since then, Sandoval has admitted to getting “complacent” while training for the 2016 season. He’s also spent countless hours at the team’s facility in Fort Myers first rehabbing, and now exclusively training. That hard work seems to have earned him another opportunity with team president Dave Dombrowski and manager John Farrell. Now it’s up to Sandoval to see it through and win back their confidence.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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