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Johnny Cueto Has Mild Flexor Strain, No Ligament Damage

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9:15pm: Cueto will rest for a week before being reevaluated, per Pavlovic. The team expects him to return to the rotation this year, though there apparently will not be a specific timeline on that return until next week’s reassessment.

6:15pm: Pavolvic tweets that the further examination of Cueto’s injury revealed no damage to his ulnar collateral ligament. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Cueto has a mild flexor strain.

8:45am: Giants righty Johnny Cueto had been working back from a blister problem when he took the hill for a rehab start last night. But he ended up leaving halfway through his scheduled outing with forearm tightness, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

At this point, it’s too soon to know the prognosis. Cueto is set for a full examination by the team’s medical staff today, and it’s certainly possible that the problem isn’t indicative of a significant injury.

That said, forearm discomfort is often tied to other issues in and around the elbow joint, so the club will surely exercise caution with the veteran right-hander. Even in the best-case scenario, it seems likely that Cueto’s DL stint will be longer than had been anticipated as he and the club work to ensure that he’s at full health before pushing down on the gas pedal. And the longer he lays off, the more time that will be required to build him back up to the major league mound.

Just when Cueto will be back, then, isn’t at all clear at present. And that begins to raise new questions about the status of his opt-out decision at season’s end. Cueto will be deciding between a return to the free-agent market — this time with a possible qualifying offer weighing him with some draft compensation — and a return to San Francisco for at least four more years and a guaranteed $84MM. (Either way, Cueto will also be entitled to $4MM more on his signing bonus as well as a $5MM buyout of a $22MM club option for 2022.)

The injury illustrates just why it was always going to be tough for the Giants to trade Cueto this summer. Even assuming away the possibility of a major injury, the uncertainty of Cueto’s intentions left suitors unsure whether they’d be adding a rental or a major long-term commitment. As it stands, that’s just what San Francisco is wondering — though, fortunately, the team is still interested in employing the veteran (assuming he’s healthy) into the future.

Even before the blister and forearm issues arose, there were growing questions as to whether Cueto would stay or go. The 31-year-old had thrown 115 2/3 innings over 19 starts on the year before hitting the DL, but sports an uncharacteristic 4.59 ERA. He does carry a fairly typical 8.0 K/9 and a 10.6% swinging-strike rate that’s higher than his career average. And he has not sported

While there were no major red flags prior to Cueto’s DL stint, there were signs of some decline. He has permitted more hard contact than ever while coughing up 1.48 homers per nine. His groundball rate has fallen to below forty percent after topping fifty last year, he has walked more than three batters per nine (his highest rate since 2009), and he’s averaging just under 92 mph with his fastball for the first time in his career.

Midday Market Chatter: Nats, Dodgers, Lynn, Panik

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The Nationals have been linked to a variety of relievers even after adding two veterans earlier this month, and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets that the pursuit continues in earnest today. While it seems a variety of hurlers could be of interest, adding a pitcher capable of taking on closing duties remains a “priority,” per the report. Washington has been connected to Brandon Kintzler of the Twins today, along with a long list of other pitchers.

Here’s some more midday chatter as the non-waiver deadline looms:

  • Some Dodgers front office folks would like to see the club come away with a “wipeout left-handed reliever” today, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. That has been noted as a strong priority over recent weeks, of course, though the club has also been said to be eyeing top-tier starting pitching as well. At this point, it would seem, Zach Britton of the Orioles is the likeliest target among lefty pen pieces, though it’s still unclear whether he’ll end up being moved.
  • There’s industry chatter linking the Indians to Cardinals righty Lance Lynn, Olney tweets — a connection that was made a few days ago as well. And Cleveland also has some interest in discussing some of the excess young outfielders on the St. Louis roster, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds on Twitter. The Cards are said to be willing to listen on some such position players — in particular, Tommy Pham and Randal Grichuk. It’s not immediately clear, though, whether the sides are engaged in earnest today.
  • The Angels have been rumored to be looking at second basemen of late, and recently spoke with the Giants about Joe Panik, per Olney (via Twitter). But those talks evidently did not materialize into anything the sides found worthy of further pursuit, and there’s no indication that Panik is in play today.
  • Both the Cubs and Red Sox appear to have made their moves at this point, per reports from Olney (via Twitter) and Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal (Twitter link). Chicago is, however, still keeping an eye out for controllable pitching depth, while Boston will also “monitor [the] market” up until the deadline.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/29/17

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Here are today’s minor moves from around the league.

  • The Royals have requested release waivers on righty Al Alburquerque, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan tweets. The Royals designated Alburquerque for assignment when they acquired Trevor Cahill, Brandon Maurer and Ryan Buchter from the Padres last week. The 31-year-old Alburquerque pitched ten innings for the Royals in 2017, allowing four runs while striking out nine and walking six. The hard-throwing, control-challenged righty has a 3.23 ERA, 10.9 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 237 career innings spanning seven big-league seasons.
  • The Giants have signed 27-year-old righty Casey Kelly to a minor-league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Sacramento, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Kelly, a former first-round pick of the Red Sox, headed to the Padres with Anthony Rizzo in a 2010 trade for Adrian Gonzalez, then to the Padres five years later in a deal involving Christian Bethancourt. He signed with the Cubs last winter and posted a 4.65 ERA, 6.5 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 12 outings, including 11 starts, for Triple-A Iowa before being released last week. He’s struggled in brief big-league opportunities spanning three seasons with the Padres and Braves.
  • The Phillies have announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Pedro Beato from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Beato will presumably take the roster spot vacated when the Phillies traded Howie Kendrick yesterday. Beato, 30, posted a 2.72 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 46 1/3 innings of relief with Lehigh Valley. He’s pitched in the big leagues with the Mets, Red Sox and Braves, but hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2014.

NL Notes: Teheran, Ellis, Cubs, Beede, Nationals

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The Braves aren’t likely to trade righty Julio Teheran at the deadline, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag. A report earlier this month suggested the Braves were open to dealing Teheran, but there haven’t been many specific details about potential Teheran deals since. Teheran is in the midst of an underwhelming season (5.09 ERA, 6.8 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 over 120 1/3 innings), is only 26, and is controllable at reasonable prices through 2020, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the Braves opted to keep him for now. Here are more quick notes from the NL.

  • The Cubs remain interested in Marlins catcher A.J. Ellis, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. A report earlier this week from MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro connected the Cubs to Ellis, who would provide Chicago with a veteran backup to Willson Contreras. (Frisaro tweets that two other teams are interested in Ellis as well and that the Cubs might not ultimately land him.) The Cubs also continue to look for a reliever. “That’s what you would be looking for — that high-leverage, later-inning guy that you’re really comfortable with — so you can spread the work out a little bit more evenly,” says Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who adds that his guess is that the team will make another move of some sort before the deadline.
  • Top Giants pitching prospect Tyler Beede will likely miss the rest of the season with a groin strain, as Alex Pavlovic of CSNBayArea.com notes. Beede is expected to miss four weeks, taking him to around the end of the minor-league season. The injury could wind up costing him a chance at a big-league call-up once rosters expand in September as well. He could, however, pitch in the Arizona Fall League. After a strong season with Double-A Richmond in 2016, the former first-round pick struggled in Triple-A Sacramento in 2017, posting a 4.79 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 over 109 innings.
  • The Nationals need catching help, FanGraphs’ Travis Sawchik writes. Matt Wieters has not hit or framed pitches well, batting .248/.297/.381 over 310 plate appearances while rating -10.8 runs in framing, via Statcorner. Sawchik suggests Atlanta’s Tyler Flowers (a much better receiver) and Detroit’s Alex Avila as good targets for the Nats to pursue.

Trade Rumblings: Lynn, Darvish, Strickland, Johnson, Cubs, Blevins

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Teams around the league are waiting for the Cardinals to give a clear indication that they intend to trade right-hander Lance Lynn, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney. The impending free agent is among the most sought-after assets in a thin market for starting pitching, Olney adds. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests, though, that the Cardinals haven’t exactly made Lynn’s availability a secret. St. Louis is “in the process of generating a market and offers” for Lynn, according to Goold, though they’re also still trying to acquire a bat to put in the middle of their lineup. Goold speculates that once Sonny Gray is finally traded, other clubs may then pivot to the Redbirds and make their best offer for Lynn, who hasn’t had any substantive talks with Cardinals brass about an extension. The Yankees have interest in Lynn, per Goold, who also notes that the Dodgers and Indians have scouted St. Louis recently. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Royals have also had recent talks with the Cardinals about Lynn.

More trade rumblings with the non-waiver deadline now less than 72 hours away…

  • Yu Darvish is still the Dodgers’ top target, but the team isn’t likely to surrender any of its “very top prospects” in order to pry him away from the Rangers, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. The Dodgers view Sonny Gray as a fallback option for Darvish, who is also drawing interest from the Yankees, Cubs and Astros, according to Heyman.
  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Giants are open to moving Hunter Strickland but feel that the vast number of relief options available on the trade market could prevent them from extracting max value. As such, San Francisco may simply elect to hold onto the 28-year-old with the intent of pairing him with Mark Melancon, a returning Will Smith and a seemingly rejuvenated Sam Dyson at the back of the bullpen in 2018. (On a somewhat related note, MLBTR recently ran down the trade market for right-handed relievers and for left-handed relievers.)
  • Also from Crasnick (Twitter link), the Braves are listening to offers for right-hander Jim Johnson, though they’re not actively trying to move the veteran, either. The 34-year-old is playing out the first season of a two-year, $10MM extension inked last October. He’s worked to a 4.10 ERA through 41 2/3 frames, albeit with a career-high 10.8 K/9 that has contributed to a more encouraging 3.21 SIERA mark. Johnson’s 50.5 percent ground-ball rate is the lowest of his career, though, and his 3.2 BB/9 represents his highest mark since a brutal 2014 season.
  • The Cubs have been oft-connected to Tigers catcher Alex Avila as they seek to acquire a more experienced backup option to young Willson Contreras, but MLB Network’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that Avila is one of many names on the Cubs’ list. He’s not a priority for the Cubs, per Rosenthal, who adds that Chicago is seeking more of a defense-first upgrade. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that Chicago could be in on Marlins veteran A.J. Ellis as a possible option. Among the catchers that are likely to be available, Rene Rivera may well have the best defensive reputation.
  • Newsday’s Marc Carig tweets that teams have continued to call the Mets on the availability of left-hander Jerry Blevins, but GM Sandy Alderson and his staff aren’t keen on moving the 33-year-old. Blevins is viewed by the Mets as an important piece to the team’s 2018 plans, per Carig. Blevins is much more of a specialist than fellow southpaw trade candidates Justin Wilson and Brad Hand, having limited same-handed opponents to a putrid .173/.230/.185 batting line. Conversely, right-handed opponents have absolutely clobbered Blevins (.316/.469/.632) through 49 plate appearances. He’s earning $5.5MM i 2017 and has a $7MM club option for the 2018 campaign.

Giants Shopping Denard Span

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The Giants are shopping center fielder Denard Span, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, but they’ve yet to drum up a market for the 33-year-old veteran.

Span is in the second season of a three-year, $31MM contract with the Giants, though the backloaded nature of the contract makes the notion of moving him especially tricky. Span’s deal came with just a $3MM salary in its first year, so he’s owed $19.2MM through the completion of the 2018 campaign (including the buyout of a 2019 mutual option and one more payment on a partially deferred signing bonus, per Cot’s).

Span remains a highly productive bat, hitting .286/.337/.451 with seven homers, 22 doubles and four triples despite playing his home games in perhaps baseball’s most pitcher-friendly venue — AT&T Park. It’s worth noting, though, that nearly all of his damage has been done against right-handed pitching (.234/.290/.281 vs. lefties; .299/.350/.496 vs. righties). Beyond that, the once-premium center field defender has seen his defensive ratings slip from anywhere to below average (per Ultimate Zone Rating) to disastrous (per Defensive Runs Saved).

Unfortunately for the Giants, there’s no shortage of outfield bats available. While Span is still playing center field, his sub-par performance there could lead opposing teams to view him as more of a corner option. If that’s the case, he joins a market that’s flooded with the likes of Jay Bruce, Curtis Granderson, Melky Cabrera, Seth Smith, Matt Joyce, Rajai Davis, Howie Kendrick, Jose Bautista and perhaps Carlos Gomez (assuming the Marlins do not reverse course and make any of their outfielders available). That’s a fair bit of options when few contending clubs are seeking outfield help in the first place, and Span is owed more money than anyone on that list.

Jeff Samardzija Unlikely To Waive No-Trade Clause

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Jeff Samardzija’s name has come up frequently in recent trade rumors, but the 32-year-old right-hander’s five-year, $90MM contract allows him to block trades to all but eight teams. Moreover, Samardzija tells Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News that if approached by the Giants about a trade to one of the teams over which he has veto power, he wouldn’t be interested in waiving the clause.

“I love being here,” said Samardzija shortly after praising the Giants’ core players and suggesting that the team fully believes it can turn the tide next season. Samardzija smiled yesterday when telling Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that he “[doesn’t] remember” the eight teams to which he can be traded without his approval (Twitter link), but Baggarly now reports the full list in a separate column.

According to Baggarly, Samardzija can be traded to the Red Sox, Cubs, Mets, Yankees, Angels, Dodgers, Athletics and Nationals without his consent. All other teams — including the Astros, who have been the team most frequently connected to Samardzija on the rumor circuit — require Samardzija’s consent, and it doesn’t sound like he’s interested in green-lighting any proposals.

Samardzija is owed $18MM annually and has struggled in the estimation of traditional metrics this season. He’s sporting a 5-11 record with a 4.85 ERA, but most other statistical means of evaluation are rather bullish on the righty. He’s averaging 9.7 K/9 against 1.1 BB/9, both of which would be the best marks of his career, and leading the Majors in K/BB ratio. His 43.3 percent ground-ball rate is only a tick below average, and he’s inducing more swings at pitches out of the strike zone than he ever has before. Samardzija’s fastball velocity has also held strong at an average of just over 94 mph, and he’s averaging nearly 6 2/3 innings per start. Metrics like FIP (3.49), xFIP (3.13) and SIERA (3.28 prior to today’s strong outing) all view him much more favorably than earned run average.

Samardzija has struggled with men on base, in part due to the fact that he’s one of many pitchers throughout the league that has seen his HR/9 rate and HR/FB ratio spike as balls are leaving the yard at a higher rate than ever before in MLB history. And while his durability and K/BB numbers are impressive, some teams will no doubt express some skepticism that Samardzija would be able to better keep the ball in the yard by vacating the spacious AT&T Park as his home stadium. The remaining money on his contract also figures to be a concern to come clubs, as he represents a fairly sizable commitment to those that are near the luxury tax threshold.

All of that sounds to be mostly a moot point anyhow. Among the teams to which Samardzija can be moved, the Red Sox don’t seem likely to pursue a starter, while the Mets and A’s aren’t contending. The Angels are a fringe contender at best and have luxury tax concerns, while the Nationals are said to be more focused on relievers and may shy away from the money remaining on his deal. It’s at least possible that one of the other teams listed shows some interest, but the Yankees are presently focused on Sonny Gray, while the Cubs have already added Jose Quintana and the Dodgers have been most heavily linked to Yu Darvish (to say nothing of the longstanding Dodgers/Giants division rivalry).

Red Sox Acquire Eduardo Nunez

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The Red Sox made their first addition of the summer on Tuesday night, acquiring infielder Eduardo Nunez from the Giants in exchange for minor league right-handers Shaun Anderson and Gregory Santos. Both teams have announced the deal. Word of the swap first leaked out after Nunez was shown leaving the Giants’ dugout to a series of hugs from his teammates on tonight’s broadcast (video link via Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area).

Eduardo Nunez | Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports

Third base has been a clear area of need for the Red Sox this season, as Pablo Sandoval was finally released midway through the third season of his five-year contract and Brock Holt has been plagued by injuries throughout the year. Boston dealt Travis Shaw to the Brewers this offseason and has been relying on a platoon of light-hitting Deven Marrero and Tzu-Wei Lin at the hot corner in recent weeks, and Boston third basemen entered play tonight hitting a collective .226/.278/.317.

Of course, the third base outlook in Boston changed radically just this week when the team decided to call upon top prospect Rafael Devers to get his first taste of the Majors. Devers ranks as one of the game’s five or six best prospects and has torn through minor league pitching at a .311/.377/.578 pace thus far in 2017. However, Devers is also just 20 years old and has scarcely played in Triple-A, so the Sox may yet feel that he needs more development in the minors before he can be relied upon to man the hot corner in a pennant race.

If Devers does ultimately prove to be capable of handling the spot, Nunez’s defensive versatility will still carry plenty of value for the Red Sox down the stretch. Nunez can provide depth both at shortstop and second base, and he has a bit of experience in the corner outfield as well. That flexibility would help to keep a number of Boston regulars fresh in the season’s final months, though the team’s exact plans with respect to Nunez and Devers aren’t yet clear. Anything from a platoon arrangement to a return trip to Triple-A Pawtucket could reasonably be on the table, though it’s certainly worth noting that the Red Sox’ press release announcing the move labeled Nunez as a “utility player” rather than strictly referencing him as a third baseman.

The 30-year-old Nunez hasn’t shown the power he displayed when he smacked a career-high 16 home runs last season — the extra time in the pitcher-friendly AT&T Park certainly can’t help his cause in that regard — but he’s been a generally solid offensive player. He’s hitting .307/.331/.413 through 315 plate appearances with San Francisco and has knocked four homers and 20 doubles to go along with a 17-for-22 mark in stolen base attempts. He’s also an extremely tough strikeout (9.1 percent) and, as Tim Britton of the Providence Journal points out (via Twitter), Nunez’s acquisition gives the Red Sox the three players with Major League Baseball’s lowest strikeout rates (Mookie Betts, Nunez and Dustin Pedroia).

Nunez is earning $4.2MM this year (with about $1.56MM of that sum remaining) and will hit the open market as a free agent for the first time this winter. He’s a pure rental for the Sox, but with Devers already in the Majors and widely believed to be the team’s third baseman of the future, Boston never seemed likely to pay the higher price for any third base options that are controllable beyond the current season.

The 22-year-old Anderson was Boston’s third-round selection in last year’s draft and currently ranks 18th among Red Sox prospects, per MLB.com’s newly updated top 30 list. The 22-year-old worked as a reliever at the University of Florida, though MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo note in their report that they feel he has enough pitches to make it as a starter. The Red Sox have been trying him in that role, as he’s worked to a 3.99 ERA with 7.4 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 with a 42.4 percent ground-ball rate in Class-A Advanced this season.

Santos is just 17 years of age and is currently in his second season with Boston’s affiliate in the Dominican Summer League. Through 30 innings this season he has a 0.90 ERA with a 24-to-15 K/BB ratio and a comically high 82.1 percent ground-ball rate. He posted a 60.6 percent grounder rate in 44 1/3 innings at the same level last season.

FOX’s Ken Rosenthal first reported that Nunez was going to Boston (on Twitter). USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted that Nunez would net the Giants a pair of minor league pitchers. The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier reported that Anderson and Santos were the two prospects in the deal (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Justin Ruggiano Opts Out Of Giants Contract

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Veteran outfielder Justin Ruggiano has opted out of his minor league deal with the Giants, tweets Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area. The 35-year-old had been playing with the team’s Triple-A affiliate. San Francisco also bumped reliever Reyes Moronta from Double-A to Triple-A, and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that the righty, who is already on the 40-man roster, could get a look later this season.

Ruggiano appeared in 19 games and made 63 plate appearances with the Giants earlier this season, hitting .217/.238/.333 with a couple of home runs. He was outrighted earlier this year and accepted the assignment, but he’s yet to return to the Majors despite a solid .280/.325/.478 slash through 169 plate appearances with Triple-A Sacramento. He’ll now presumably look to latch on elsewhere — likely on another minor league pact.

Ruggiano is a career .256/.318/.434 hitter through 1478 plate appearances across parts of nine Major League seasons. A right-handed bat, Ruggiano is most valuable as a weapon against lefties, as evidenced by his lifetime .273/.336/.515 slash when holding the platoon advantage. He spent most of his time in Triple-A playing center field, but he hasn’t posted positive marks there in the Majors since his 2012 campaign with Miami.

 

Giants Sign Pablo Sandoval

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SATURDAY, 7:08pm: Sandoval’s contract includes 2018-19 club options for the major league minimum, but he’ll become a free agent at the end of this season if he isn’t on the Giants’ roster, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links).

1:43pm: The deal is now official, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Sandoval will head to Class A+ San Jose, then on to Triple-A Sacramento.

Here’s a statement from Sandoval about his return to the Giants in which he apologies for disparaging comments he made about the organization as he was in the process of leaving.

“I have always loved and appreciated the Giants organization, my Giants teammates and the fans of San Francisco. I have so many great memories and I want to thank the organization for giving me another chance to come back here.  When I left the Giants in 2014, my comments were emotional, insensitive and misguided and I truly regret and apologize for my actions.  I am committed to working hard to contributing to the success of the Giants.”

8:07am: Sandoval will, in fact, sign with the Giants, Heyman writes (Twitter links). The Royals and others were in fact in consideration, but Sandoval ultimately opted to head back to San Francisco.

FRIDAY: The Royals are another team with interest in Sandoval, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link), though the third baseman is still expected to land with the Giants.

WEDNESDAY, 8:38pm: Sandoval says he’s “waiting for Friday to make a decision,” with the Giants being “one of [the] options,” per ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera.

7:17pm: The Giants have agreed to a minors deal with third baseman Pablo Sandoval, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter). Sandoval was released earlier today by the Red Sox, though the deal will not be formally entered until his contract has passed through waivers — which (all but certainly) will occur on Friday, Evan Drellich of CSNNE.com tweets.

While the match had been rumored, and is rather unsurprising on paper, it’s still quite a notable reunion for a player who was once one of San Francisco’s most visible stars. Both Sandoval and the Giants have had seasons to forget thus far. The former was released by his most recent organization after a third-straight season marred by injury and underperformance. And the latter currently sits five games back of the Padres in the NL West cellar.

Sandoval, now thirty years of age, was a popular and productive player for seven seasons with the Giants. Over his 3,533 plate appearances, Sandoval slashed a robust .294/.346/.465 and compiled about twenty wins above replacement. That performance earned him a five-year, $95MM contract with the Red Sox, who’ll pay the vast majority of the nearly $50MM remaining (less any prorated portion of the league minimum for time Sandoval spends in the majors from now through 2019).

The Giants tried to keep the affectionately nicknamed Panda, but extension talks never materialized and he spurned the organization in free agency — suggesting in comments at the time that he was happy to be moving on. But Sandoval never found his footing in Boston. His longstanding battle with weight was again an issue, and Sandoval missed all of 2016 with a shoulder injury. He got into shape and showed well this spring, but endured a DL stint for a knee problem and struggled both at the bat (.212/.269/.354) and with the glove (-6 DRS; -8.6 UZR/150 innings) over his 32 games in 2017.

It’ll be interesting to see whether Sandoval can jump start his career in the place he once thrived. First, though, he’ll have to earn his way back to the big leagues. It’s important to bear in mind that the sides won’t be committed to one another for very long even if things go well. Unless the deal provides the club with an option of some kind — and it is fair to note that Jose Reyes agreed to such terms with the Mets while the Rockies were paying his contract — then Sandoval will return to the open market at season’s end. That said, it’s possible to imagine an extended reunion if things go well, as the Giants don’t yet have a clear plan for the 2018 season at third base.

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