OAKLAND – Pablo Sandoval might be playing his final game for the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Tuesday, but he certainly doesn’t want it to be his last game as a professional.
Sandoval, 37, reiterated before Monday’s Bay Bridge Series game between the Giants and Oakland A’s at the Coliseum that he’ll report to Triple-A Sacramento later this week if that’s what the organization wants him to do.
“I’ll go,” said Sandoval, who signed a minor-league deal with the Giants in February. “It’s a blessing to be playing baseball, especially right now at this time. It’s tough for veteran guys to get a job. The way that everything is going, I’m just blessed to have the opportunity.”
Whether Sandoval remains in the Giants organization past Tuesday, though, is unclear.
While it would be a shock to see Sandoval open the season on the Giants’ 26-man roster, the question is whether the organization will keep him, and assign him to Triple-A, or release him. Before Monday, Sandoval went 2-for-17 at the plate (.118) this spring with 12 strikeouts, numbers perhaps not unexpected considering he hasn’t been in the major leagues since 2021.
Asked if Sandoval can still contribute at the Triple-A level, Giants manager Bob Melvin said, “I wouldn’t put anything past him, I really wouldn’t.”
With the Giants, maybe?
“I don’t know,” Melvin said. “That’s not my decision.”
“It’s going to be whatever they want to do,” Sandoval said of the Giants. “I just want to be able to enjoy it and play well. Whatever they decide, it’s their right. You never know what can happen.
“I just want to enjoy these last two days and have fun. Whatever it is, it’s a plus for me.”
The Giants have not kept it a secret that Tuesday’s game against the A’s could be Sandoval’s last with the club, urging fans on social media and on the team’s website to “Celebrate Pablo Sandoval on Tuesday” and cheer on “the panda” with a link to purchase tickets.
“This is going to be like my first game there, my first time putting on the uniform in 2004 in Arizona,” in rookie ball, Sandoval said. “This team means a lot to me. It’s (brought) me a lot of good memories and beautiful memories of my career. Tomorrow is going to be special.”
It’s easy to see why the Giants want to recognize Sandoval, who is presently the team’s last remaining member of the World Series championship teams of 2010, 2012, and 2014.
In 11 years with the Giants, from 2008 to 2014, and again from 2017 to 2020, Sandoval hit .285 with a .794 OPS. Of his career 153 home runs and 639 RBIs, 135 and 569, respectively, came with the Giants.
Perhaps most notably, Sandoval hit three home runs in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series against the Detroit Tigers, setting the tone for a four-game sweep by the Giants. In 42 career playoff games, including 39 with San Francisco, Sandoval hit .338 with a .921 OPS, six homers and 20 RBIs.
Sandoval first signed with the Giants as a 16-year-old in Venezuela in 2003 and made his home debut with the club at what was then AT&T Park on Aug. 19, 2008. He was a pinch hitter for Dave Roberts and doubled off Ricky Nolasco for the Giants’ only extra-base hit in a 6-0 loss to the Florida Marlins.
Melvin wouldn’t divulge what his plan is for Sandoval on Tuesday, other than to say that he’ll likely play as a designated hitter or in the field.
“He will play baseball until they take his bat and spikes away from him. He just loves to play baseball,” Melvin said of Sandoval. “He has a passion for it unlike very many. He’s in the cage all day long, he’s taking ground balls as much as he possibly can. He is happiest when he is on a baseball field playing baseball.
“So it is going to be very difficult for him to stop playing, and I think he’ll play as long as he possibly can, wherever that may be.”
Whatever happens later this week, Sandoval wants to relish a possible swan song in a Giants uniform.
“It’s going to be a great moment, a great experience,” Sandoval said. “I’m going to enjoy those moments because you don’t know what’s going to happen the next day.”
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SLATER IN OUTFIELD: Austin Slater (right elbow) started in right field on Monday and Melvin said the plan is for him to do the same on Tuesday before determining the next course of action. If Slater has to go on the injured list, Luis Matos will start the season with the Giants.
“It’s been more about bouncing back for him after games,” Melvin said of Slater. “So we’ll see how he does these two games and (decide) where we are with him.”
SNELL’S NEXT STEP: Left-hander Blake Snell will pitch again Friday, Melvin said, although it’s unclear whether that will be at Papago Park in Phoenix or elsewhere. Snell threw three innings in a simulated game Sunday at Papago Park, and Melvin he’ll throw four or five on Friday.
