Pablo Sandoval has given the go-ahead to his agent, Gustavo Vasquez, to continue negotiations with the Giants about a possible contract extension should the club be willing to resume talking, CSNBayArea.com's Andrew Baggarly reports. San Francisco GM Brian Sabean traditionally eschews in-season negotiations, Baggarly notes, "so this could be a scenario where both sides say the ball is in the other’s court."
There was a considerable gap in offers when the two sides last met, with Sandoval demanding at least a five-year, $90MM deal and the Giants counting with a three-year, $40MM offer. That difference wasn't able to be bridged before Opening Day and Sandoval's team was reportedly deciding between continuing talks or waiting until after the season. It's possible the new deadline could be midseason, as Vasquez previously told CSNBayArea.com that Sandoval would test free agency if he didn't receive an acceptable offer from the Giants by the All-Star Break.
The Giants are known to want assurances about Sandoval's health and conditioning before extending the third baseman, and Sandoval has done his part in the early going by arriving at Spring Training in excellent shape. If the slugger is keeping up his fitness after a couple of months, it stands to reason that Sabean could have enough information to re-open talks. The Giants are no strangers to late extensions — they extended Hunter Pence in the last days of the 2013 season and similarly locked up Tim Lincecum in October, a couple of weeks before the right-hander hit the open market — though they might not get that chance this time if Vasquez's midseason deadline is a firm one.
