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Pablo Sandoval on free agency: 'I want to be here for the rest of my career.'
The dark clouds hovering over the San Francisco Giants championship celebration on Friday afternoon weren't just there to rain on their parade. They were also there to represent the biggest dilemma facing club CEO Larry Baer and general manager Brian Sabean during the offseason: Pablo Sandoval's free agency.
Sandoval will officially file for free agency on Monday, leaving open the possibility that San Francisco's three-time postseason hero and cornerstone third baseman will be wearing a new uniform in 2015.
Sandoval, 28, reportedly rejected a three-year, $40 million offer back in spring training. According to Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area, at that point he'd hoped to begin negotiations around five years and $90 million, which is the deal Hunter Pence received from San Francisco. But nothing ever came of those discussions. It was somewhat of a gamble on his own abilities, but it looks like it will pay off nicely following his latest postseason explosion. Now, it's just a matter of who will be willing to meet or exceed his asking price.
Here's more from Baggarly's column:
“I would love to be back here,” Sandoval said. “I love the fans, I love my teammates. I love the way they keep all these guys here. Why not? It’s going to be hard for me and for everyone. It’s my decision.”
Would Sandoval go to the highest bidder?
“I’m going to go from what my heart tells me to do,” Sandoval said. “I’ve got a lot of patience. It’s going to take time to make that decision and I want to do the right thing.”
“I want to be here for the rest of my career. I want to wear that jersey for the rest of my career.”
Sandoval entered the postseason coming off consecutive disappointing regular seasons. Over those two seasons, he averaged a .279 batting average, 15 home runs and 76 RBIs. Those numbers, coupled with seemingly never ending questions regarding his weight and conditioning, may have put Sandoval's value within a more reasonable range.
Then, October came, and Sandoval once again morphed into a superhero. In 17 games, he hit .366 with six doubles, five RBIs and 12 runs scored. His 26 hits overall established a major league record for one postseason, and raised his career postseason average to .344.
Sandoval's postseason pedigree will undoubtedly pique the interest of potential suitors. It's already reported the Boston Red Sox are preparing to make a run in their attempt to rebound from a disappointing 2013 season.
“The fans know we have a good track record along those lines,” Baer continued on Friday. “What we’re thinking about is growing the team and retaining who we can retain. Pablo is a huge part of this family. We’ve had conversations before this season and we’re always optimistic. We’ve heard nothing, seen nothing to dissuade us from pursuing him. I can’t say where it’ll end because we haven’t started.”
Options will be plenty. As will the amount of dollars being waved in Sandoval's face. Despite his comments, it's a very real possibility he'll take his services elsewhere. But that didn't mean his impending free agency was brushed aside or ignored during the celebration on Friday. In fact, it was front and center more than once.
Pence: "Re-sign Pablo?" Crowd: "YES YES YES." Pence: "We need about five more for that."
— Andrew Baggarly (@CSNBaggs) October 31, 2014
In each instance, it drew an uncomfortable smile from Sandoval. It's not a situation either side seems particularly excited about facing. But business is business, and right now everybody realizes the going rate for the Kung Fu Panda's services will be hefty.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
