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Pablo Sandoval

Pablo Sandoval Signs With Mexican League’s Acereros De Monclova

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Pablo Sandoval is headed to the Mexican League for the 2022 season. The Acereros de Monclova announced this evening (Spanish-language link) that they’ve signed the two-time MLB All-Star.

Sandoval, a client of Beverly Hills Sports Council, has appeared in parts of fourteen MLB seasons. He made his big league debut with the Giants in 2008, and he’d established himself as an everyday player by the following season. The switch-hitting Sandoval hit a remarkable .330/.387/.556 across 633 plate appearances during his age-22 campaign, finishing seventh in NL MVP balloting that year. That showing cemented him as a key member of a burgeoning core that would go on to win three of the following five World Series titles.

There’s no doubt Sandoval was a huge part of that success. He appeared in at least 108 regular season games each season between 2010-14, posting above-average offensive numbers (by measure of wRC+) in every season other than 2010. The Kung Fu Panda again earned some down ballot MVP support in 2011, and he was downright excellent during the Giants’ 2012 and 2014 postseason runs. He claimed World Series MVP honors in the former season, thanks to an 8-16 showing in a sweep over the Tigers. And while he didn’t receive any postseason awards in 2014, his 12-28 performance in that year’s World Series helped San Francisco narrowly defeat the Royals in a tightly-contested seven-game battle.

Following the 2014 season, Sandoval signed a five-year, $95MM contract with the Red Sox. That proved a sizable misstep for then Boston-GM Ben Cherington, as Sandoval’s production tanked fairly quickly thereafter. He hit only .245/.292/.366 in his first season with the Sox. That proved to be his final year as an everyday player, as he hasn’t topped 300 plate appearances in any season since. The Venezuela native missed almost all of 2016 recovering from a labrum injury, then got off to a terrible start to the 2017 campaign. Boston released him midway through that season, and he returned to the Giants in free agency.

By 2018, Sandoval reinvented himself as a capable bench bat and part-time corner infielder. He played with San Francisco until 2020, then hooked on with the Braves late in that season and made their playoff roster. He re-signed with Atlanta on a minor league pact last winter and broke camp with the club. While he got off to a nice start as a designated pinch-hitter, Sandoval saw his production turn downward by May. He was traded to the Indians at last year’s deadline, with his contract included in the deal that sent Eddie Rosario to Atlanta to offset some of Rosario’s salary. Cleveland released Sandoval immediately and he sat out the remainder of the season, although he did collect a World Series ring when the Braves went on to win the championship.

Sandoval returned to the diamond this winter. After putting up impressive numbers in the Venezuelan Winter League, he’ll head to Mexico for the upcoming season. It remains to be seen whether the 35-year-old will make a return to affiliated ball in the United States at some point down the road.

Pablo Sandoval Plans To Play In 2022

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After 14 Major League seasons, Pablo Sandoval isn’t yet thinking about retirement, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link) that the veteran infielder intends to play next year.  Sandoval didn’t catch on with another MLB organization after he was released by the Guardians back on July 30, but he is currently playing in the Venezuelan Winter League (his first VEWL appearance in nine years).

Sandoval signed a minor league deal with the Braves last winter and made the Opening Day roster, locking in a $1MM guaranteed salary.  The Panda hit .178/.302/.342 with four homers over 86 PA, appearing almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter.  After a hot start, Sandoval’s production cooled down considerably, as he had only a single hit in his final 37 PA in a Braves uniform.

Atlanta ended up sending Sandoval to Cleveland as salary offset in a trade deadline swap that ended up being one of the season’s more noteworthy transactions.  The Braves dealt Sandoval for future NLCS MVP Eddie Rosario, who ended up being one of the key contributors to the Braves’ World Series title.  Of course, the Panda is no stranger to postseason honors himself, after winning three Series rings with the Giants and capturing the World Series MVP award in 2012.

Though Sandoval’s prime years are behind him, the 35-year-old was still a productive part-time bat as recently as 2019, when he hit .268/.313/.507 and 14 home runs over 296 PA with the Giants.  Given his long track record, he seems like a good candidate to land somewhere this winter on another minor league contract, as teams can get a first-hand look during Spring Training whether or not Sandoval has anything left in the tank.

Deadline Day Roster Moves

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After what was arguably the wildest trade deadline in years with dozens of deals around the league, multiple teams made follow-up roster moves. Trades end up squeezing some players off of rosters, or creating holes that need to be filled. This post will itemize the many 40-man roster moves that teams made after a dizzying array of blockbuster deals earlier in the day.

AL East

AL Central

  • Pablo Sandoval was released by the Indians. This was just hours after he was acquired in the Eddie Rosario trade. Based on his release, it’s clear that he was only included as salary offset.
  • The Tigers selected the contract of reliever Ian Krol. The left-hander is back after being designated for assignment earlier in the week.

AL West

NL East

NL Central

NL West

  • The Diamondbacks claimed outfielder Jake Hager off waivers from the Mariners. This will be Hager’s fourth club on the season, having been previously designated for assignment by the Mets, Brewers and Mariners. Arizona also selected the contracts of infielder Drew Ellis and left-hander Miguel Aguilar.
  • The Dodgers announced that they claimed catcher Chad Wallach off waivers from the Marlins. Wallach was recently designated for assignment when Brian Anderson was reinstated from the IL.

Braves Acquire Eddie Rosario

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The Indians and Braves have announced a deal sending corner outfielder Eddie Rosario and cash considerations to Atlanta in exchange for corner infielder Pablo Sandoval. It’s the first of two outfield pickups on deadline day for the Braves, who reacquired Adam Duvall from Miami as well. Atlanta also picked up Joc Pederson earlier this month as part of an effort to rebuild the outfield in the wake of Ronald Acuña’s ACL tear.

Rosario is currently on the 10-day injured list with an intercostal strain but is expected to return at some point in the coming weeks. Signed to a one-year deal over the offseason, Rosario struggled over his time in Cleveland, hitting .254/.296/.389 with seven home runs in 306 plate appearances. He’d been a slightly to well above-average bat in each of his final four seasons with the Twins, however, and the Braves are clearly betting on a return to that form.

The acquisition cost is minimal. Sandoval has picked up sporadic playing time, serving mostly as a designated pinch-hitter. The 34-year-old is hitting .178/.302/.342 over 86 trips to the plate. He’s almost certainly being included as a salary offset, with about a third of his $1MM figure still to be paid.

For Cleveland, the appeal is in shedding an undisclosed amount of Rosario’s salary. The Indians will cover some of the deal, but Rosario’s $8MM contract still has a little less than $2.8MM to be paid out. The Braves will assume some of that tab to add a lefty bat to their outfield mix while the Indians save some money in a season where they’re no longer competing anyways.

The Best Minor League Deals Of 2021 (So Far): Position Players

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Minor league contracts don’t generally draw much of a reaction over the course of a baseball offseason, with some rare exceptions. Everyone loves to see an out-of-the-blue comeback story on a non-guaranteed arrangement, but most minor league deals of any note are injured veterans, struggling former prospects or fringe big leaguers who have never really solidified their status as a contributor at the game’s top level. Every year, however, a handful of these no-risk investments produce solid returns.

We’re about a quarter through the 2021 season, so let’s check in on a handful of non-guaranteed pacts that have already proven to be wise investments for their clubs.

  1. Tyler Naquin, OF, Reds: Naquin’s signing was met with a collective yawn, but one Ohio club’s leftovers have turned into another’s treasure. The former Indians first-rounder has mashed his way into a regular role in Cincinnati, raking at a .265/.346/.530 clip through 133 plate appearances. Naquin parlayed a strong spring and a March injury to Shogo Akiyama into an Opening Day roster spot, but he’s now fourth on the team in plate appearances and third in wRC+ at 135 (min. 20 PAs). He’s hitting so much better than struggling center fielder Nick Senzel that Cincinnati hasn’t hesitated to move Senzel to the infield in the wake of Joey Votto’s injury, creating more playing time for Naquin. This doesn’t appear to be a mere small-sample fluke, either. Naquin ranks in the 95th percentile of MLB hitters in average exit velocity and has similarly strong percentile rankings in hard-hit rate (84th), xwOBA (89th), xSLG (93rd) and barrel rate (90th). He’s also controlled through the 2022 season via arbitration. For an Indians club that has gotten virtually no production from its outfield over the past two seasons, watching Naquin’s start in 2021 has to sting, even if they’re happy for their former prospect on a personal level.
  2. C.J. Cron, 1B, Rockies: Cron’s ability to hit hasn’t really been in question since his 2014 MLB debut, but injuries have dogged him in recent years. Fresh off a season-ending knee surgery in 2020, Cron inked a non-guaranteed pact with the Rockies, made the club out of Spring Training and has unsurprisingly emerged as their primary first baseman. He’s out to an excellent start, hitting .300/.397/.500 in 116 plate appearances. Cron missed 10 days with a back strain and, unlike Naquin, is a free agent at season’s end, so he didn’t grab the top spot on this list. Still, he’s been a bright spot for the Rockies and could give them a summer trade chip if he can stay healthy. It’s still somewhat puzzling that the Tigers didn’t bring him back, given how poorly things have gone at first base in Detroit, but perhaps Cron simply liked the opportunity presented in Colorado better.
  3. Matt Duffy, 3B, Cubs: Duffy began with his MLB career with a stellar year for the 2015 Giants, in which he hit .295/.334/.428 and finished second behind current teammate Kris Bryant in NL Rookie of the Year voting. He never really followed up on that debut effort, though, as underperformance and injuries knocked him off track over the next two seasons. Duffy rebounded to play fairly well with the Rays in 2018 but wound up released after a difficult 2019 campaign. The veteran infielder spent 2020 at the Yankees alternate training site. This offseason, Duffy attracted interest from a few clubs in a coaching and/or front office capacity, but the Cubs offered him a chance to reinvigorate his playing career and have been rewarded for doing so. Duffy made the Opening Day roster and has come out with a .281/.375/.360 line over his first 104 plate appearances, his top offensive output since the aforementioned rookie season. The right-handed hitter isn’t a power threat, but he’s an above-average defensive third baseman with a good approach who makes plenty of contact. Duffy solidifying the hot corner has allowed Bryant to help out an otherwise shaky, inconsistent outfield.
  4. Jed Lowrie, 2B, Athletics: There’s something about Lowrie and the A’s that just clicks every time he dons the green and gold. In his third stint with the team after missing practically all of the 2019-20 seasons as a Met, Lowrie is improbably hitting .254/.329/.394 through 158 plate appearances. With offense down around the league and a cavernous home park, that’s good for a healthy 108 wRC+. The veteran switch-hitter’s bat has cooled since a torrid start to the season, but the early return on his no-risk minor league pact has been strong.
  5. Charlie Culberson, INF/OF, Rangers: A popular utility player wherever he goes, Culberson is well on his way to endearing himself to the Rangers’ fanbase. Through his first 97 plate appearances, the 32-year-old is hitting .264/.316/.429 with three homers. Culberson has made one-off appearances at second base, shortstop and in left field, but the bulk of his playing time has come at third base.
  6. Pablo Sandoval, INF, Braves: Atlanta fans might’ve groaned when the Braves brought the Panda back on another minor league deal, but Sandoval has thrived as a pinch-hitter and seldom-used bench bat. Sandoval has come to the plate as a pinch-hitter 26 times and homered in four of those plate appearances. On the whole, he’s hitting .250/.372/.583 through 43 plate appearances. No one expects the former All-Star to continue at this pace, and you can certainly argue that since Sandoval is effectively a dedicated pinch-hitter, this isn’t an ideal use of a roster spot. Still, it’s hard to argue with four pinch-hit dingers, and we’re talking about minor league deals here, after all.

We’ll check in on this year’s crop of minor league signees a few months from now, as it’s quite likely that we’ll see the tides turn on some of these (and other) contracts. A hot streak from Travis Shaw in Milwaukee could quickly make his deal look all the more prudent, and Connor Joe is out to a hot start with the Rox in a return from last year’s cancer diagnosis, which is a feel-good story in and of itself. At least through the season’s 25 percent mark, however, this group of bats is paying dividends for the teams that rolled the dice.

Braves Select Pablo Sandoval, Release Jake Lamb, Re-Sign Jason Kipnis

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MARCH 29: The Braves have brought Kipnis back on a different minors pact, O’Brien tweets.

MARCH 27, 1:25 pm: Lamb has been released, per a team announcement. While he signed a major league contract in February, it was non-guaranteed. Therefore, the Braves will only be on the hook for a portion of his $1MM salary. The move drops Atlanta’s 40-man roster count to 39. Lamb will again become a free agent.

Atlanta will also option Camargo and catcher William Contreras to the alternate training site to open the year, per David O’Brien of the Athletic (Twitter link). In addition to Sandoval and Adrianza, backup catcher Alex Jackson and fourth outfielder Ender Inciarte will fill out the season-opening bench.

10:48 am: The Braves announced this morning they’ve selected the contract of corner infielder Pablo Sandoval. Outfielder Phil Ervin has been designated for assignment to clear 40-man roster space. Additionally, the Braves released non-roster utilityman Jason Kipnis.

Sandoval made Atlanta’s roster late last season and picked up four postseason plate appearances. The Braves brought him back on a minor-league deal in January, and he’ll now earn a season-opening spot on the active roster. Sandoval will join a crowded but still uncertain third base mix in Atlanta, where Austin Riley, Johan Camargo, Jake Lamb and the newly-added Ehire Adrianza could all get playing time. Sandoval, 34, only hit .214/.287/.262 over 94 plate appearances last season, but he was an above-average hitter as recently as 2019 with the Giants.

Ervin has bounced around via waivers from the Reds to the Mariners to the Cubs and to Atlanta since last summer. The 28-year-old hit fairly well over his first couple seasons in Cincinnati but stumbled to a .149/.292/.189 mark last season. Teams remained intrigued by Ervin’s combination of otherwise decent offense and ability to play all three outfield positions, but the out-of-options outfielder has had trouble sticking on an active roster. Atlanta has a week to trade Ervin or place him on outright waivers.

Kipnis signed a minor-league deal with Atlanta after spending last season with the Cubs. The former Indians second baseman hit .237/.341/.404 with Chicago in 2020. He’ll now return to the open market in search of a new opportunity.

Braves Re-Sign Pablo Sandoval To Minors Deal

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The Braves have signed infielder Pablo Sandoval to a minor league contract, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter).  Sandoval will earn $1MM if he makes Atlanta’s active roster.

Sandoval is back in Atlanta after first joining the Braves on a minors deal in September.  The team brought the Panda aboard to add depth given the Braves’ lack of third base production, and Sandoval ended up appearing in one regular-season game and then three NLCS games (as a pinch-hitter or defensive replacement) in an Atlanta uniform.  Since the Braves are still hoping for a breakout from Austin Riley and a rebound from Johan Camargo, it makes sense that Sandoval would again be brought back as a depth option.

If he breaks camp, the 34-year-old Sandoval will appear in his 14th Major League season and continue a career that has already delivered plenty of memorable moments.  Best known for his long tenure in San Francisco, Sandoval was part of three World Series championship teams, and won Series MVP honors in 2012.  He hasn’t been a true everyday player since 2014 (the final year of his initial tenure with the Giants), but Sandoval has at times been a productive part-timer and bench bat.  As recently as 2019, Sandoval hit .268/.313/.507 with 14 home runs over 296 plate appearances for the Giants.

Braves To Add Pablo Sandoval To Active Roster

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The Braves will select Pablo Sandoval’s contract to the active roster today, manager Brian Snitker told MLB.com’s Mark Bowman and other reporters.  Sandoval is slated to play third base in Atlanta’s starting lineup today.

Sandoval inked a minor league deal with the Braves a little under two weeks ago, just four days after the Giants released him.  The Panda hit only .220/.278/.268 over 90 plate appearances with San Francisco this season, though as The Athletic’s David O’Brien noted, today’s transaction would seem to imply that Atlanta will put Sandoval on its postseason roster.

Austin Riley has been slowed by a quad injury in recent days, so the Braves could be turning to Sandoval for some additional third base depth beyond Adeiny Hechavarria.  Johan Camargo and Charlie Culberson were both available at Atlanta’s alternate training site, though the fact that Sandoval got the nod might be indicative of how far Camargo and Culberson have fallen down the depth chart.

Or, maybe the Braves are simply hoping for some vintage Sandoval postseason magic.  Sandoval has a .344/.389/.545 slash line over 167 career playoff PA, all with San Francisco from 2010-14.  The Giants’ three postseason appearances in that span resulted in three World Series titles, with Sandoval collecting Series MVP honors in 2012 after hitting three homers in Game One of the 2012 Fall Classic.

It has been a while since Sandoval was that productive, though he did hit .259/.311/.466 in 548 PA for the Giants from 2018-19.  The Braves would happily take similar offense in their lineup or coming off the bench in the playoffs as the team looks to capture its first championship since 1995.

Braves Sign Pablo Sandoval

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The Braves have signed third baseman/first baseman Pablo Sandoval to a minor league contract, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Sandoval will head to their alternate site.

It didn’t take long for Sandoval to find a new team, as the Giants placed him on release waivers Sept. 10. To say the least, the two-time All-Star has gone through an up-and-down career. He was hugely important to the Giants from 2008-14, a span in which they won three World Series titles, but floundered after signing a five-year, $95MM contract with the Red Sox before 2015.

Sandoval didn’t get through his whole contract with Boston, which released him in 2017. He returned to San Francisco thereafter and turned back into a useful bench piece last season, but his year was cut short because of Tommy John surgery. The Giants re-signed Sandoval in January, but the 34-year-old switch-hitter could only muster a .220/.278/.268 line with one home run in 90 plate appearances this season before they cut the cord on him.

Sandoval will now join an organization whose third basemen rank dead last in the majors in fWAR (minus-0.4). Austin Riley and Johan Camargo, the NL East-leading Braves’ only third base choices so far, have combined for a .220/.272/.396 line through 294 plate appearances. The Braves optioned Camargo to their alternate training site on Sept. 9.

Giants Place Pablo Sandoval On Release Waivers

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1:00pm: The Giants announced that Sandoval has been placed on release waivers.

12:32pm: The Giants are designating infielder Pablo Sandoval for assignment today, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports (Twitter links). The move will create space for fellow veteran Justin Smoak, who signed with the Giants yesterday.

Sandoval, 34, lasted just two and a half seasons in Boston under an ill-fated five-year deal but surprised many with a resurgent showing upon returning to the Giants after being cut loose. From 2018-19, Sandoval tallied 548 plate appearances over 200 games with his original club, hitting .259/.311/.466 with 23 homers, 33 doubles and a triple. The pendulum swung in the opposite direction in 2020, however, as Sandoval has logged a miserable .220/.278/.268 slash through 90 trips to the plate.

The 33-year-old Smoak hasn’t exactly fared well in 2020 himself, hitting just .186/.262/.381 in 126 plate appearances with the Brewers before being released. Even amid those struggles, however, Smoak has shown much more power at the dish and a better walk rate. He’s been more prone to strikeouts than Sandoval but gives the Giants a better defensive option at first base and more pop on days he serves as designated hitter or a late-game pinch-hitter.

With Sandoval hitting well in 2018-19 and Hunter Pence returning after a resurgent year with his hometown Rangers, Giants fans might’ve had visions of one last productive run from the fan-favorite duo that fueled so much of their “Even Year” dynasty from 2010-14. Both Pence and the Panda struggled mightily in what now looks to have been their San Francisco farewell tours, however, leaving their futures within the game somewhat up in the air.

Had the Giants been languishing in the NL West cellar, perhaps they’d have kept Sandoval around to close out the season. San Francisco, though, has rattled off five straight wins to surge back to current possession of the No. 7 playoff seed in this year’s expanded postseason format. It’s in some ways reminiscent of last year’s July hot streak. Last year’s club wasn’t able to sustain the pace and convert that hot streak into a playoff berth, but the 2020 Giants will look to parlay their current 8-2 stretch into the organization’s first playoff berth since 2016.

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