Pablo Sandoval entered a free agent market limited in premier hitters and even more limited with starting-caliber third basemen. Coming off his latest postseason performance, it’s clear that he would be looking at one of this offseason’s biggest deals. It was anticipated that there’d be a fight between the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox for his services in the coming years and to date much of the news surrounding his free agency have confirmed that expectation.
There are other teams in the mix to varying degrees, but Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the San Diego Padres aren’t a team to sleep on here. Upgrading one of the worst offenses in baseball this past season has become one of the Padres’ main objectives this winter and they have been openly listening to offers on a number of their players.
Nobody anticipated that the Padres would potentially be in the mix for any of the main free agent targets available, particularly one who could command $100 million. Heyman also points to the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox as possible suitors. The Blue Jays were rumored to have made an offer, but Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports that isn’t the case.
In fact, it would appear as though Sandoval hasn’t actually received any offers as of Thursday evening. Reports that the Red Sox had made an offer earlier in the week proved to be false as well. Sandoval, his brother, and his agent spent a few days in Boston visiting with the team’s front office and touring Fenway Park.
The team is believed to be preparing an offer as its made Sandoval their top priority.
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Presumably the Giants have something planned as well, though it’s unclear when discussions will take place between the two sides. Sandoval has spent his entire career in the Giants organization. They’ve long been the favorites to retain him, particularly after his performance during their World Series run last month. Over the course of his seven year career he’s a .294/.346/.465 hitter with 196 doubles, 106 home runs, and nearly 500 runs batted in. The 28 year old has also hit .426/.460/.702 in three World Series for the team and is beloved in the city of San Francisco.
It’s possible that Sandoval is waiting on offers before engaging in discussions with the Giants. There is reason to believe that he’d prefer to remain in the city where he’s seen such success, but it remains to be seen just how lucrative the team’s offer may end up being.