Pablo Sandoval Wants at Least $90 Million

It was reported today that San Francisco Giants’ 3Bman Pablo Sandoval has requested at least five years and $90 million, the same deal Hunter Pence got last fall, to sign a contract extension with the team.  The Giants also reportedly offered Sandoval a three-year extension for $40 million, which Sandoval’s agent rejected out of hand.

I don’t see how there is any way the two sides reach an agreement on a possible contract extension before the All-Star Break at the earliest.  There are simply too many unknowns with Sandoval to give him a contract as big as the one he’s seeking right now, but Sandoval’s potential is too big to him to settle for numbers anywhere near what the Giants are currently offering.

It has been well publicized that Pablo came into Spring Training camp in shape, having reportedly lost a considerable amount of weight over the off-season.  How much weight he actually lost is a mystery, though, and the Giants are still reporting his weight as 245 lbs, which would be less than he reportedly weighed at his peak last year (up over 260 lbs), but doesn’t suggest that Pablo is suddenly svelte and ready to run marathons.

Pablo is hitting well this spring (.318 batting average, .857 OPS), but the sample size isn’t big enough to know whether he’s going to hit this year like the Pablo of 2009 and 2011 or the Pablo of 2010, 2012 and 2013. It’s worth noting here that according to wikipedia, Pablo lost 38 pounds before Spring Training in 2011, so his weight loss this spring is an especially good sign.  However, it also suggests that Pablo’s weight is always going to subject to wild fluctuations.

There are also lingering questions about Pablo’s ability to stay healthy aside from his weight issues.  Pablo has broken the hamate bone in each of his wrists at different times during his playing career, the last time in May 2012.  It would obviously be wise to see if he can make it through the 2014 season to see if the wrist injuries are something he’s put behind him, or if they are going to be another chronic problem like his weight.

In an unrelated matter, the Giants designated both Heath Hembree and Jake Dunning to AAA Fresno earlier this week.  The San Francisco Chronicle treated Hembree’s demotion as the bigger surprise, but I’m more surprised that the Giants sent down Dunning, since Dunning spent considerably more time with San Francisco last year and generally pitched very well.

Both Dunning and Hembree pitched well this spring: Dunning had a 1.42 in 6.1 innings pitched, and Hembree had a 2.25 ERA in four IP.  Hembree’s other numbers were better, however.

A number of relievers have been pitching well for the Giants this spring, and the decision to demote Dunning and Hembree probably rests mostly on the fact that they still have options left.

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