Oct 26, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants third baseman
Pablo Sandovalreacts after scoring a run against the Kansas City Royals in the 8th inning during game five of the 2014 World Series at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
2) Sign Pablo Sandoval; 5 year contract/ $100 million, AAV of $20 mil. I don’t often agree with Dan Shaughnessy, but it is in the best interest of the 2015 Boston Red Sox to sign Pablo Sandoval. The Kung Fu Panda hit .279 this season with 16 homers, 73 RBI, and 3.4 WAR, and it is not a stretch to think the offensive numbers would improve moving from AT&T Park to Fenway. He is just entering his prime and already flashed sensational abilities, with two seasons of 20+ HRs and 2 seasons batting .315+ already under his belt at just 28. Time will tell if he puts all his tools together or just maintain the numbers he puts up every year which are nothing to sneeze at. The Panda is usually good for a .280 AVG, 15 HRs, 70 RBI, and 50 R. As I said above, it would not be a surprise to see improvement with the venue change, but it is certainly expected as he enters his prime years. The other upside to the Panda is clutch hitting. He was the MVP of the World Series when the Giants swept the Tigers in 2012, and is a career .326 hitter with a .902 OPS in October baseball. As with Shields there is one caveat, left handed pitchers:
As shown in the above tweet, southpaws gave the Panda fits this past year. I should also mention that he was the reason I decided to incorporate a backup plan along with each choice; there will be a market for him and Brian Sabean and the Giants will not let go of him easily. But if he is the best 3rd base option on the market for a team that desperately needs one. Backup Plan: Give up big time prospects for Adrian Beltre