Third baseman Pablo Sandoval has reached an agreement with the Boston Red Sox. The 28-year-old slugger rejected offers from the San Francisco Giants, where he won three World Series Championships, and was named World Series MVP in 2012. The San Diego Padres were also rumored to be interested in Sandoval, but couldn’t make a matching offer. The deal is believed to be around five-years $90-plus million; the Sox offered him a five-year $95 million contract, but the exact terms of the finalized deal have yet to be announced.
Sandoval, otherwise known as Panda, said he wanted to spend the rest of his career with the Giants, but, in the end, money talks and the Red Sox made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Last year, Sandoval hit .279 with 16 homeruns and 73 RBI. He is a career .294 hitter with 106 homers, 462 RBI, and a .346 OBP, but he truly shines in October.
In his postseason career, Sandoval is hitting .344 with a .545 slugging percentage. He has also driven in 20 and has hit six homeruns in postseason play. This October, as usual, he was a big part of the Giants offense posting a .366 batting average.
Boston finished last in the AL East last season after winning it all in 2013. Not only have they signed Sandoval, but they also signed Hanley Ramirez this week. Like Sandoval, Ramirez’s deal is expected to be in the range of five years $90 million. The Sox have always been a spendy team, and are doing just that this offseason.
The terms of Sandoval’s contract seem pretty steep, but his postseason play is what attracted the Red Sox. San Francisco was unwilling to overpay, as were other teams around the league. The Sox have been known to flash the cash to bring in top-name free agents because they have the money and payroll to do so.
Sandoval will now be in a hitter-friendly ballpark at Fenway and in a league where he can DH, which will work to his advantage. Boston can be a critical fanbase especially for players making the big bucks, so it will be interesting to see how he does in the AL East.
Switching leagues can be tough for some players, but in this case it looks to work in Sandoval’s advantage. He’s not the best third baseman in the league (although he can flash the glove from time to time) so the option to put him in as the designated hitter will benefit both the Sox and Sandoval.
The Red Sox will look to have a rebound season and return to the postseason in 2015. They are making big moves and spending some money to bring in top players to reach October baseball. Sandoval may be in for a bit of a culture shock, but should produce quality numbers for the Sox next year and beyond.