Ex-trainer blasts Sandoval's eating habits

A conditioning stint on the disabled list may not be enough to rectify Pablo Sandoval's weight issue, according to his former trainer.

Ethan Banning, Sandoval's former trainer while he was playing for the San Francisco Giants, is divulging some alarming information regarding the three-time World Series champion's weight struggles.

Banning, in an interview with Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald, discusses an instance when he helped Sandoval lose 21 pounds - the same amount he gained in a 21-day period after he feasted over Christmas in Venezuela back in 2011. Sandoval was engaged in contract negotiations with the Giants at the time, and Banning helped him cut weight quickly so talks wouldn't fall apart.

"I would go pick him up at a random location, drive him to the facility so that his car wouldn't be there, so if they dropped in they wouldn't know he was there," Banning said. "So for about a three-week period, he had the flu - we had every excuse in the world. We were just trying to rip weight off him again. And it ballooned way out of control."

Sandoval was always willing to put in work at the gym, but that's only half the battle according to Banning.

"And it's not an exercise thing, it's an eating thing," Banning added. "Obviously exercise is an important factor in it, a very important factor, but eating is going to be the component that needs to be managed and monitored. We had a chef on staff that cooked all his meals."

Banning lost contact with Sandoval after the 2011-12 offseason, but has some interesting advice for his former client while his career hangs in the balance in Boston.

"You need the baby sitter," Banning said. "Hey, that’s a pretty harsh statement. At the end of the day, I'm speaking truth … I love the guy."

Sandoval lost his starting job at third base to Travis Shaw this spring, and is now on the disabled list for a left shoulder injury. Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan reported Wednesday the Red Sox have no intention of playing him unless he loses weight during the conditioning stint.