Giants reportedly set to sign Sandoval to minorleague deal
The Giants hadn’t ruled out Pablo Sandoval for 2020, and the Panda certainly hadn’t ruled out the Giants.
So perhaps it’s not a stunner that Sandoval will be back in San Francisco once he’s recovered from Tommy John surgery.
According to an MLB Network report, Sandoval is getting a minorleague deal with the Giants worth $2 million plus $750,000 in incentives, but there are questions as to when the corner infielder would be available.
Sandoval, the MVP of the 2012 World Series, which the Giants swept in four over Detroit, underwent elbow surgery Sept. 4. Though position players can return to the field quicker than pitchers after the surgery, it still takes a significant time to recover.
Infielders tend to return quickest, at a median rate of 9.2 months (compared with 14 months for pitchers), according to a 2018 report in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. In the report, Stan Conte and Christopher Camp evaluated all known Tommy John surgeries in the majors and minors through 2015.
The median rate for infielders to return to their previous level is 9.9 months. The quickest any infielder returned was
five months.
The season opens roughly seven months after Sandoval’s surgery. It wouldn’t be surprising if he were playing again in May or June, depending on the rehab, but it’s possible it could take months longer.
If or when Sandoval is on the Giants’ roster, he’s expected to assume a similar role as a corner infielder, backing up third baseman Evan Longoria and first baseman Brandon Belt.
Asked at the end of last season for his thoughts on returning to the Giants, Sandoval said, “Yeah, I want to be back. I want to retire from this organization. I’d love to be back with my teammates. We had a lot of fun.”
In the final year of the fiveyear, $95 million contract that he signed with Boston, Sandoval hit .268 with 14 home runs in 108 games, and his 18 pinch hits tied a club record.
The Red Sox let him go midway into the deal, and he resigned with the Giants, who needed to pay just the majorleague minimum for his services while Boston picked up the rest.
With Madison Bumgarner joining the Diamondbacks, the lone holdovers from the championship era were Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt. Sandoval would make four.
Bruce Bochy was Sandoval’s only manager in San Francisco and loved the Panda’s personality and clubhouse presence. New manager Gabe Kapler checked off on Sandoval after meeting with him in Miami.
Sandoval was married in December in a Miami Beach wedding, which was attended by many teammates over the years including Hunter Pence, Gregor Blanco, Dereck Rodriguez and Mike Yastrzemski.