For second time, Giants part with popular Sandoval
The Giants are in the midst of a playoff push, but if they play in October, they will do it without one of the best postseason performers in their history.
The Giants placed Pablo Sandoval on unconditional release waivers Thursday, moving on from the 2012 World Sandoval Series hero three
weeks after having done the same with another fan favorite, Hunter Pence. The club announced it was adding switchhitter Justin Smoak and pitcher Drew Smyly to the team’s 28-man roster and that reliever Rico García was optioned to the Sacramento alternate site.
“San Francisco Giants, my teammates, coaches and the best fans in the world, you’ve been everything I could have dreamed of and more,” Sandoval wrote in an Instagram post. “It’s been an honor and privilege to play for you. My heart will forever be in
San Francisco.”
Sandoval, 34, hit .220 with a .546 OPS in 82 at-bats and struggled to make consistent contact. His spot on the roster was further compromised by his lack of positional versatility. Although the Giants said he was an option at first base and third base, he was used mostly as a designated hitter or pinch hitter.
With only three appearances at third base this season, it became increasingly clear the Giants didn’t trust Sandoval to play the position that became his primary spot early in his career. The Giants targeted Smoak as a replacement for Sandoval after he was released by the Brewers on Sunday. The switchhitting first baseman hit .186 with a .682 OPS for Milwaukee this season and had five home runs before being let go.
“I think in part you have to go back a couple of years and follow Smoak’s career,” said Giants manager Gabe Kapler when asked why the club preferred Smoak to Sandoval. “But when Smoak is not driving the baseball and not getting hits, the one thing he continues to do is see pitches, work counts and draw walks. That’s sort of the profile he’s had for quite some time. One thing that Smoak does well is he keeps a lineup moving.”
Sandoval spent parts of 11 seasons with the the Giants and was the starting third baseman
on all three world championship teams. He caught the final out of the 2014 World Series victory over the Kansas City Royals, but Giants fans will forever remember his for three home runs in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series against the Detroit Tigers.
He burst onto the scene in 2008 as a 21-year-old corner infielder who’d come through the farm system as a catcher. Sandoval caught 11 games in his rookie season and even caught a few bullpens during spring training in 2019, but he was never more than an emergency option at the position and wasn’t able to fulfill Bruce Bochy’s goal of having him play all nine positions in the same game due to an elbow injury that ended his 2019 season ahead of schedule.
Sandoval left the Giants as a free agent after the 2014 World Series, signing a five-year, $95-million deal with the Boston Red Sox. On his way out he said he wouldn’t miss any teammates aside from Pence and Bochy and felt disrespected the Giants didn’t do more to keep him.
When the Red Sox cut Sandoval loose in 2017, while still owing him nearly $50 million, the Giants were not seen as a viable option. But GM Bobby Evans took a chance, signing Sandoval to a minor-league contract and he resurrected his career and rebuilt his image over the next three seasons.
After undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL in his right elbow last summer, Sandoval became a free agent at the end of the 2019 season and publicly reiterated
his desire to remain with the Giants. When new manager Kapler visited the Miami area —Sandoval’s offseason home — to meet pitcher Andrew Suárez and Shaun Anderson over the winter, Sandoval invited himself and spent much of a lunchtime conversation convincing Kapler how he could be an asset to the 2020 Giants.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi signed Sandoval to a minor league deal over the winter that extended his tenure with the club, but he wasn’t expected to make the Opening Day roster because he was still recovering from surgery.
A delayed start to the year due to the coronavirus pandemic allowed Sandoval time to become healthy enough to make the club. At his age and without the ability to play anywhere but first base, his future is at best uncertain.
“We didn’t talk through the next steps,” Kapler said. “In those conversations I think we just want to lead through a lot of empathy and listen to any thoughts that the player has. Pablo was in a state of gratitude, he appreciated the opportunity, he wished the club a lot of success, he mentions that he believes in the club and that was really it.”
In the late stages of his career, Sandoval has reestablished himself as a remarkably positive clubhouse presence and he has a track record of performing well in big moments. Perhaps he will play in October; it just won’t be for the Giants.