Major League Baseball

Sandoval likely to hit free agency before Giants push to re-sign him

Published Nov. 2, 2014 10:27 p.m. ET

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Ken Rosenthal

When the Giants won the World Series in 2012, they re-signed left-hander Jeremy Affeldt, second baseman Marco Scutaro and center fielder Angel Pagan only after each became a free agent.

Barring a sudden breakthrough Monday, the Giants will need to take the same course and outbid other clubs for their top potential free agent, third baseman Pablo Sandoval.

A year ago, when the Giants missed the postseason, they re-signed outfielder Hunter Pence and right-hander Tim Lincecum before the market opened. But winning the Series greatly compressed the Giants’ timetable, leaving them with only a five-day window of exclusivity to re-sign Sandoval and their other potential free agents.

That window expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday. And while the Giants are expected to speak before the deadline with Sandoval’s agent, Gustavo Vasquez, they likely would need to make Sandoval a monster offer to prevent him from hitting the open market.

“At the beginning of the season, Pablo decided to stop negotiating on a new contract so he could focus on his team and help his teammates win another World Series,” Vasquez told FOX Sports on Sunday night.

“He took the risk of stopping the negotiation and possibly securing a new contract for himself and his family and decided to place his team in front of everything. As he has displayed throughout his career, team success is Pablo’s driving force.

“This season, he has once again proven himself to be a leader on and off the field and has shown everyone what he is made of. He is a committed and disciplined player and he would like to be valued as such as a free agent.”

Sandoval, 28, batted .279 during the regular season with a .739 OPS, 16 homers and 73 RBI. But he again was even more of a force while helping the Giants go 12-5 in the postseason, batting .366 with an .888 OPS, zero homers and five RBI.

Published reports said that Sandoval rejected a three-year, $40 million offer from the Giants in spring training, preferring to use Pence’s five-year, $90 million contract as a starting point for negotiations.

Sandoval’s asking price figures to only increase in the wake of another strong postseason performance and another Series title, the Giants’ third in five years. Third base is a position of scarcity in the majors, and Sandoval is a switch hitter and above-average defender, adding to his value.

The question the Giants must answer is whether Sandoval will stay as motivated if he signs a long-term deal. His weight has been an issue in the past, and he acknowledges that he is more focused in the postseason.

The Red Sox, Marlins and White Sox are among the teams with possible interest in Sandoval as a free agent. But the Giants remain the favorites to keep him, due to their long history of re-signing players who help them win championships.

Sandoval might be the most popular of them all.

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