Early Candidates for MLB Comeback Player of the Year

MLB Comeback Player of the Year Candidate: Pablo Sandoval

San Francisco Giants – Third Baseman

This one will be the most unique on the list. Really because Sandoval doesn’t even qualify statistically with the others in this slider.

Sandoval wasn’t a starter, he only got opportunities because of the DH in Toronto and the injuries to Brandon Belt and Buster Posey.

But as time has gone on, Sandoval may be the only offensive player trying to keep the team together right now.

With all the rumblings and shakeups going on in the clubhouse, and the light that has been shed on what is a clear disconnect between the new front office and a mostly the same roster, Sandoval has been his upbeat self.

He has increased the upbeat attitude just by how well he has been performing.

In just 78 at-bats, he has five home runs, 14 RBI, 22 hits, and a .282/.300/.603 slash line.

Given the career path of the Panda, this is more than just a revival for the Giants, but for Sandoval himself.

After departing for Boston in 2015, Sandoval almost played himself, correction, poorly played himself out of baseball. Just two years into his five-year contract with the Red Sox, he was released. After a poor performance and injury complications, Sandoval may have been a footnote in the game of baseball, with nothing more than a couple of all-star appearances and a three-homerun game in game one of the 2012 World Series.

This is more the Pablo of old, and it couldn’t have been better timing for both parties.