San Francisco Giants: Pablo Sandoval reunion on the horizon?

The San Francisco Giants have been dreadful this season and have only made the playoffs once since 2014, which ended with their epic bullpen collapse against the Cubs last year. Pablo Sandoval won three World Series championships with the club from 2010 to 2014 and could basically be had for free at this point. Could a reunion take place?

According to Jon Heyman of FanRag, people close to Pablo Sandoval are saying that he would “love” a reunion with the San Francisco Giants. Heyman also reports that the Giants have spoken about the possibility of a reunion behind closed doors, but that has not been made public.

Of course, there is the issue of the parting shots Sandoval fired on his way out of San Francisco, saying that he left money on the table from San Francisco to join the Red Sox and that he would only miss Bruce Bochy and Hunter Pence. Given how little the Giants roster typically turns over, a lot of familiar faces would be waiting to have some words with Sandoval upon a potential return.

So how do the Giants beat writers feel about a potential reunion?

Doesn’t look like they’re on board with a reunion.

In his seven years with San Francisco, Sandoval hit .294 with a .346 OBP and was worth 20.8 bWAR. He also earned two All Star appearances and received some MVP consideration (2009, 2011). Sandoval’s best years have obviously been with the Giants, and a reunion could be just what both sides need.

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There are two schools of thought here, however.

If the Giants front office was planning on stripping down the roster at the trade deadline by trading Johnny Cueto, Mark Melancon, etc., then adding Sandoval definitely isn’t going to happen. Heck, even if they trade those two guys, it may not happen. Joe Panik is the piece that would be blocking his arrival, seemingly, as Christian Arroyo, one of the Giants top prospects, will need a place to play. Arroyo was called up earlier in the year and manned third for the club and is the presumed third baseman of the future.

If the Giants hold tight at the deadline and plan to re-tool the roster for a potential run next season, then adding a veteran that has had success with the team like Sandoval could be a part of those plans.

Both schools make a little sense. The Giants have an aging roster, all at or around 30, and their window for contention as a unit may have already closed. If the front office believes they still have a shot at a playoff run next season, then Sandoval could be a useful tool to achieving that goal, assuming he remembers how to play baseball.

For my money, the smart play would be to trade any asset the team has outside of the few core pieces and start rebuilding in the next couple of weeks. Shed some of the contracts that they’ve signed their players to for some reason, and back away from the luxury tax threshold a bit. Then, don’t sign Panda.

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Signing Pablo Sandoval could be a nice moment for the fans like when Tim Hudson and Barry Zito faced off in Oakland late in the season in 2015 as both the A’s and Giants were out of it. His addition likely wouldn’t help the Giants reportedly poor clubhouse chemistry, unless Sandoval is playing the Angel Pagan role this time around.

Whatever the decision, we’ll have to wait nine days to see where Sandoval lands, barring a trade.