The San Francisco Giants have signed Pablo Sandoval as a non-roster invitee ahead of the start of spring training games this weekend, and Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi had a hilarious explanation for the move.
“We had to sign Pablo because the workout videos he was sending me were taking up all the space on my phone,” Farhan Zaidi said, via Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.
Pablo Sandoval is a Giants legend nicknamed “The Panda” who won three championships with the team. His finest moment was the three home run game in the first game of the 2012 World Series against the Detroit Tigers. Two of the home runs were off of Justin Verlander. Sandoval went on to win the MVP of that series. He was a member of the 2010 team that won, and also caught the last out of the 2014 World Series, when the Giants beat the Kansas City Royals.
After becoming a free agent in 2014, Sandoval joined the Boston Red Sox in 2015, and it did not go well. He returned to the Giants in 2017, and stayed with them until the 2020 season, when he went to the Atlanta Braves. Sandoval’s last time playing in MLB was in 2021 with the Braves.
Sandoval likely has an uphill battle to make the Giants’ roster this year. However, he will have the chance to show he can still play in MLB in spring training. It will be worth monitoring his performance throughout spring, and if the Giants make room for him on the roster.
More must-reads: