Giants Had Comical Reason Behind Signing Ex-Red Sox Pablo Sandoval

The Giants hope to stay competitive with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West, and that could start with the return of a World Series MVP.

San Francisco this week signed Pablo Sandoval to a minor-league contract. It’s the first time the 37-year-old returned to an MLB roster since he was on the Braves in 2021. The third baseman spent time playing in Dubai and Mexico after his short run with Atlanta.

Sandoval was a key member of the Giants’ three World Series runs in the early 2010s, but he wasn’t able to recapture that form when he signed a five-year, $95 million contract with the Boston Red Sox in 2014, which ended in a release in 2017.

The two-time All-Star was fine in his second stint with San Francisco but was designated for assignment in 2020.

It’s likely the Giants want to give a franchise favorite one last send-off before he calls it a career, and it’s a sentiment president of baseball operations seemed to confirm.

“We had to sign Pablo because the workout videos he was sending me were taking up all the space on my phone,” Farhan Zaidi told reporters Monday.

Former Giants manager Bruce Bochy also said he was sent those workout videos, too. And the Texas Rangers manager praised Sandoval for continuing to work hard even when he was out MLB. “Kung Fu Panda” also looks to have shed some pounds from his last run in the majors, so he hopes to impress in spring training as a non-roster invitee.