Giants reuniting with former World Series MVP on non-roster deal

Veteran infielder Pablo Sandoval is set to reunite with the Giants this spring, as reported by Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area Saturday afternoon. Sandoval is expected to join the club on a minor-league deal with a non-roster invitation to big league spring training. Pavlovic makes clear that Sandoval’s situation is different from that of longtime Giants reliever Sergio Romo last year. Back in March, Romo returned to San Francisco on a non-roster deal of his own with a plan for it to be a ceremonial final stop before retirement. Pavlovic indicates that Sandoval, by contrast, is hoping to make a comeback after last appearing in the Majors back in 2021.

The 37-year-old veteran began his professional career with the Giants as a 17-year-old back in 2004. He made his big league debut with the club back in 2008 and went on to win three World Series championships with the club before departing for the Red Sox via free agency ahead of the 2015 season. Sandoval’s stay in Boston would be fairly shortly-lived, however, as he struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness over parts of three seasons with the Red Sox before the club designated him for assignment in July of 2017. He re-signed with the Giants just days later and spent the next three years in a bench role with the club, slashing a league-average .253/.308/.437 in 642 trips to the plate in a Giants uniform from 2018 to 2020.

Sandoval parted ways with the Giants for a second time late in the shortened 2020 campaign, and after being released by the club latched on with the Braves. He made one appearance for Atlanta during the stretch run before returning for the 2021 season, where he contributed off the bench in 69 games before he was traded to Cleveland in exchange for Eddie Rosario just before that year’s trade deadline. Sandoval was released immediately following the trade without making an appearance for his new club. Since his last big league opportunity, Sandoval has appeared in several leagues in Latin America, including a 91-game stint in the Mexican League back in 2022. The Panda last appeared in a professional game in Dubai last fall.

Given the fact that Sandoval is just a few months shy of his 38th birthday and hasn’t played in affiliated ball since the 2021 season, he’s surely a longshot to make the club’s 40-man roster entering the season. The odds appear particularly long given the club’s plethora of options at the infield corners, including J.D. Davis, Wilmer Flores and LaMonte Wade Jr. With that being said, the switch-hitting veteran sports a career .285/.337/.457 slash line across parts of 11 seasons in San Francisco and will surely bring his energy and veteran presence to the Giants clubhouse this spring, whether he manages to secure a role on the club’s bench for the 2024 campaign or not.