San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Sandoval may pitch again — in a rout
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The good news about Pablo Sandoval’s 1-2-3 inning as a pitcher last April was the way he spared the bullpen in the ninth inning of a 15-6 loss to the Dodgers in the opener of a doubleheader.
The bad news: The Giants needed him to spare the bullpen in the ninth inning of a 15-6 loss.
Fans no doubt crave more pitching from Sandoval, and he has volunteered. But strangely enough, manager Bruce Bochy wants to stay away from nine-run losses.
“If we get into a dire situation and we need a position player to pitch, he wants to do it,” Bochy said. “You hate to think about him pitching again, but you never know.”
The Panda can help the Giants in other ways, not only sharing time at third base with Evan Longoria, but also shifting to second as he did twice last year and being a potential third catcher. Bochy plans to have Sandoval catch a few bullpen sessions this spring.
Sandoval was all but forgotten in offseason chatter about the 2019 team, probably because he did not play the final two months last year after tearing a hamstring, which required surgery.
But he has come to camp healthy and took his first batting practice on the field Saturday with Steven Duggar and Ryder Jones, themselves coming off surgery.
Sandoval gave the Giants a nice lift last season and they hope he can do so again, all for the major-league minimum salary. The Red Sox are paying the rest as Sandoval completes the five-year, $95 million deal he signed with Boston after the 2014 World Series.
“He just loves the game and wants to do everything he can to help out,” Bochy said. “That’s what you love about him.”
Venditte report: Bochy joked how switch-pitcher Pat Venditte can spare him some grief in postgame news conferences. Asked how he plans to use Venditte, Bochy said, “When I’m stuck and I don’t know what matchups I want, I’ll stick him out there and nobody will question me about it.”
After watching Venditte throw his second bullpen Saturday, Bochy said he can see why the reliever is so effective besides the obvious, because he comes at the hitter from an odd, sidearm angle with whichever arm he uses.
Briefly: The Giants’ rumored interest in center fielder Cameron Maybin appears real. The Athletic reported they are nearing completion of a minorleague deal . ... Bochy reiterated that Aramis Garcia took a “big step” with his solid September callup and said Garcia will work on pitch framing and other catching technique this spring with Eli Whiteside .… Former Marin Catholic, St. Ignatius, Oregon and San Diego Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts attended practice with his family. Fouts is a Giants fan.
Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: hschulman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hankschulman