Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval went to the injured list Aug. 14 with bone chips in his right elbow, which may prove to be a season-ending issue. There’s a “fair” chance Sandoval won’t return in 2019, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.
If Sandoval doesn’t come back this year, it’s possible we’ve seen the last of the fan favorite in a San Francisco uniform. The 33-year-old is set to become a free agent in the offseason, when the Red Sox are sure to pay him a $5MM buyout in lieu of a $17MM club option for 2020. Sandoval’s on the cusp of wrapping up the ill-fated deal he signed entering 2015 with Boston, which handed him a five-year, $95MM guarantee. His tenure with the Red Sox went so poorly that they paid him to go away in July 2017, but Sandoval was effective as a Giant before then and has again turned into a useful major leaguer since re-signing with the club shortly after returning to free agency two years.
While left-handed pitchers toyed with Sandoval in previous years, the Kung Fu Panda has offered respectable numbers against them and righties this season. As a result, Sandoval has put up an above-average line of .269/.314/.509 (109 wRC+) with 14 home runs and a personal-best .240 ISO in 295 trips to the plate. Statcast largely backs up Sandoval’s output, crediting him with a .338 expected weighted on-base average that aligns with a .342 real wOBA.
Along with providing the Giants quality work at the dish this season, Sandoval has logged 20-plus appearances at both third and first. There has been talk of outgoing manager Bruce Bochy giving the versatile Sandoval an opportunity to appear at every position in a game this season, but the chances of that occurring may be gone.
Why was the boston deal ill-fated for Pablo? He’s getting penny of that 95-mil
My guess would be that Pablo was very unhappy with the outcome of that contract… dude is a ball player and loves the game just because he got 95 million doesn’t mean he’s happy about not being able to contribute which he obviously was doing or he would have just taken the money and stopped playing. I hated the way he left SF and I doubted him when he came back but facts are facts Pablo has earned every bit of respect from giants fans since rejoining. Love the kid, his love of the game, people in Boston are disappointed I understand. But I assure you he’s just as unhappy with his performance during his time their as they are.
Wow,,,if you love him this much then maybe you should adopt him..
The facts; he elected to go free agent and then signed a very lucrative 5 year contract with the Red Sox.
They got less than an adequate return on their investment (frankly he pretty much sucked both offensively and defensively).
3 years in Boston littered with injury’s and finally released in 2017
As far as “loving the game” he came to Spring in terrible shape and tried to fake his way through the season which in the Al East just doesn’t work.
No defending the Red Sox here, but you make it sound as if he is a victim and deserves love and affection for the job that he didn’t do.
What I got out of that is he earned his respect as a fan of the Giants because of the way he regrouped and played, but left a sour taste by the way he left the club to go to Boston. Pablo had the same problems with weight in the bay, and Boston should’ve thought about where they put their money if that was going to be a problem. Giants got the best of Pablo on Boston’s dime! Happens from time to time. Don’t bash that dude cause you don’t like his narrative. That’s kid crap!
Being out of shape overweight is ok then??
Silly comment
Ridiculous
After signing a 5 year free agent contract for nearly 100m he comes to camp ( I saw him) out of shape looking like a whale
Ill-fated for Boston. It was more than clear enough to understand. No need to try and beat up the writer of this story.
agreed!
Exactly! Some people
no comprendo…..
The Panda is pure SF. He will be back on the fold…
Because he can’t fit in the fold?
LOL!
If (when) the Sox pay him that $5mil will that officially put them into the next luxury tax bracket? Or does that money go towards next years salary cap?
Next years
It counts as same years cap considerations for threshold purposes, but the 5 M works out to basically under a M so it’s insignificant honestly.
Who’s paying the buyout? Boston of SF?
Da Sawx
Did you not read the article?
I thought he retired last year.
So theoretically, if the Red Sox picked up the option, would he stay with the Giants still or go to boston since they would be the ones picking it up?
The option is strictly financial. Boston lost all control when they released him. He will be a free agent regardless.
Yes…, and the financials of the contract are guaranteed so the Red Sox either pay him the 17 million for 2020 or they can buy him out for 5 million.
How is it possible for the Red Sox to even have an option on Sandoval when he’s not on their team. So in theory if they would exercise the option(which they obviously won’t) for 17 million, he’d be back on their team next year ? That makes no sense. I’m pretty sure the Red Sox just owe him a certain amount of whatever is left on that guaranteed contract. Does this make sense to anybody ? How can you have an option for a player not on your team ? Makes no sense
He is still playing under the Sox contract and they still pay the money so they get to exercise or decline the option. If they accept he’s still in SF but the Sox owe him 17 mil
He is technically bought out of the option so they pay him the $5m as the buy out was exercised.
It’s strictly a bookkeeping thing. He signed a five-year contract. Next year is year 5 for $17 million. But there’s an option to buy it out for just $5 million.
The buyout in contracts is considered guaranteed money. He’s already owed at least that much for next season.
Who is going to sign him to a minor league deal?
The San Francisco Giants.
After the way the Cubs series went, the Giants should start shutting down Posey, Dickerson, Longoria, etc. and start the Sep. 1 AAA influx a little early.
Yes I agree. Jaylin Davis, Mike Gerber, and doubon are going to be up and I can’t wait. Davis and Doubon are going to be studs. Future is looking up for the Giants with exciting young talents coming up
I’ve always wondered in situations like this, what would happen if the Red Sox theoretically picked up that option? Would he have to go back to them or would he still be with the giants?
The Red Sox waved him so he’s done in Boston. He’s on the Giants right now but he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season. Free to sign with anybody.
But the Red Sox still owe him for year 5 of that guaranteed contract. They can pay him 17 million dollars or they have the option to buy him out for 5 million. Any other team can pick him up for the minimum in 2020
Chips? Certainly not the kind he prefers…
The only people that defend him are Giants fans because it reminds them of their glory days. I recently read an article about Sandoval opening up to his time in Boston. He had nothing but good things to say about the organization yet he refused to take it seriously. He apparently loves baseball but only on his terms. The Sox did everything they could to motivate him and every year he showed fatter and fatter to spring training. There was one game where is belt popped off in the batters box, you can youtube that to see it. So the only thing he deserves is to play in a softball beer league because that’s clearly how he wants to treat the game. He is a disgrace to baseball players and athletes alike. Do not defend this guy. He screwed a team over that had faith in him and dumped the team that loved him so he can get a fat paycheck and become fat. Nothing heroic to see here.
Somebody poop in your cereal or something ? It must be a real bummer walking through life this bitter.
dude get a life, you just go around the comments looking for people to give dumb responses to. bitter? more like realistic. maybe you should grow a pair and wake the f up. giant man child
Why on Earth is it so hard for supporters of teams other than the Giants to take this at facevalue? He’s been a very decent Giant, and so Giants fans like him. For whatever reason it didn’t work out in Boston. He didn’t screw anyone over. It just didn’t work out. Pablo is what he is. He’s very popular in the Bay Area. I don’t get why people get butt-hurt over Giants fans liking the guy.
FWIW Cody Bellinger’s belt burst the other day.
Why on Earth is it so hard for supporters of teams other than the Giants to take this at facevalue? He’s been a very decent Giant, and so Giants fans like him. For whatever reason it didn’t work out in Boston. He didn’t screw anyone over. It just didn’t work out. Pablo is what he is. He’s very popular in the Bay Area. I don’t get why people get butt-hurt over Giants fans liking the guy.
FWIW Cody Bellinger’s belt burst the other day.
are you dumb? he screwed the red sox over. how did he not? that’s $19 million a year they could have used towards someone that actually cared and deserved to earn it. giants fans that defend him are so friggin moronic it blows my mind.
Giants need to let him go after this year and quit living off of past glory
He helped carry the Giants putrid offense prior to Dickerson and Yaz catching fire. No doubt he’ll be elsewhere next season, but his production this year has been well worth the league minimum and roster spot he occupied.
As a Giants fan I still feel lingering resentments about HOW he left the Giants. If he wasn’t getting a fair shake by Giants management or found the Red Sox a more appealing option it was the right thing for him to do. But trashing his team on the way out the door was insulting for his teammates and fans alike. When he returned I was at several games and there were a lot of boos by Giants’ fans.
good I’m glad you still hold resentment and that he got boos. no one ever looks at him being a selfish piece of garbage that he is. wahhh he earned $90 million and should be recognized for coming back to the giants. such garbage. the guy better not play on another mlb team the rest of his career.
so glad he’s getting tommy john surgery. wahhhhh. I’m a rich fat piece of garbage player that ruins baseball for players that actually deserved the outrageous contract that I received. bye bye sandoval, goodluck…. glad your career is over.