Tuesday evening after the Triple-A Round Rock Express’s 4-3 loss to the Sacramento River Cats, some talk in the visiting locker room centered around how Pablo Sandoval’s impatient approach as a hitter actually makes him hard to get out.
Sandoval, recently released by the Red Sox and re-signed by the Giants, had just gone 1-for-4 with a double against Round Rock in his first game of what is likely to be a very short stay in Sacramento. Sandoval grounded out in his first two at-bats against starter Clayton Blackburn, but pulled the first pitch he saw in the fifth inning — a fastball, in and off the plate — for a ball that went to the rightfield wall.
“He swings at everything, swings at balls out of the zone,” Blackburn said. “You never know what pitch he’s going to be on and what he’s looking for.”
He added, “He’s a tough out. He’s a big leaguer and there’s a reason he had so much success, regardless of what’s gone on lately.”
Sandoval will more than likely be a big leaguer again soon. Around the time he smacked that double, the Giants traded their starting third baseman and 2016 All-Star Eduardo Nunez to the Red Sox. With stud prospect Christian Arroyo on the disabled list with a broken hand, San Francisco could now opt to give another prospect a look and stick with Bruce Bochy’s plan to allow Sandoval 50 at-bats with Sacramento. Or, the Giants could call up their former star sooner.
Sandoval made reporters chuckle after the game when he got news of Nunez’s trade, initially uttering a Spanish expletive before adding that he didn’t worry and that “I just want to get better and better every day.”
He had a good first day at the new job that he might be able to build upon.
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Sandoval’s struggles in Boston were well-documented, from not long after he signed a five-year, $95 million free-agent deal in November 2014 to his recent designation for assignment and subsequent release. But the idea of Sandoval soon embarking on a redemption tour with beleaguered San Francisco doesn’t seem insane, at least as evidenced by what he showed Tuesday in Sacramento.
The show began two hours before game time when Sandoval took batting practice. Wearing shorts and a snug No. 48 that he would swap for No. 47 before the game began, Sandoval took some cuts from the left side of the plate. He offered hints of that sweet swing that helped him to a .294 batting average and 123 OPS+ in seven years with San Francisco, sending line drives arcing into the outfield.
“He looks like same old Pablo to me,” Blackburn said. “He’s still got really good hands, still got the same swing.”
Sandoval didn’t look as sharp from the right side of the plate, neither in batting practice nor in the game. He hit righthanded his final at-bat of the night against southpaw Dario Alvarez, popping up to second. Sandoval’s taken nearly three times as many at-bats in the majors from the left side of the plate than from the right, while hitting nearly 40 points higher as a lefty.
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He seemed to outperform another historic area of liability on Tuesday, making two fine plays at third base. Sandoval started by making a running catch into shallow left field on a Jared Hoying pop-up to end the top of the first inning. Later, he ended the top of the seventh by scooping a tricky ground ball from Doug Bernier and retiring him at first.
“I feel good, feel good,” Sandoval said when asked how he felt to make the running catch. “I been moving a lot, been working the last couple days.”
Fans greeted Sandoval warmly, with the River Cats selling Panda hats for $10 at the ballpark and Sandoval signing autographs less than a half-hour before game time.
Giants fans would be wise to temper their expectations, at least somewhat. Sandoval won’t help the last-place Giants (38-63) catch the first-place Dodgers (70-31), who might already have more wins than San Francisco will this season. The promise Sandoval offered Tuesday — particularly that double on his third at-bat of the night against a Triple-A starting pitcher — may have merely been good work against minor league competition.
He could be riding the bench in San Francisco come September when Arroyo is slated to return. Sandoval could also be out of work again. Only time will tell what Sandoval, who turns 31 on August 11, has left to offer San Francisco.
Asked if he’d feel major league-ready were he called up within a day or two, Sandoval told reporters, “It’s not my decision. I just follow the rules. I just (am) gonna continue to do everything I can on the field, play my game, try to get better and better… and have fun.”
Blackburn initially thought it was tough to say if Sandoval looked major league-ready, before stopping himself and admitting, “Yeah.”
“I mean, he hit a fastball, one off the wall and a fastball that wasn’t a strike,” Blackburn said. “Anybody who can do that I’d say is pretty major league-ready.”