In a shocking turn of events, the San Francisco Giants have decided to reunite with one of their playoff heroes from the 2010s. After spending the past two seasons not a part of any major league organization, Pablo Sandoval is back (sort of)!
It turns out the Giants are going to have a member of the title teams in camp this spring. Pablo Sandoval is expected to arrive soon as a non-roster invitee. Story: https://t.co/0CMoy8pcPv
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) February 17, 2024
Of course, being a non-roster invitee means that Sandoval is far from guaranteed to play actual major league games, but being a non-roster invitee was exactly how Panda made the Braves in 2021.
It seems like a lifetime ago that Pablo Sandoval was wearing a Braves uniform, but some of his early season heroics netted the Braves a few victories.
After a hot April where he slashed .300/.417/.750 and hit three of his four homers in 24 PAs, the Panda cooled off considerably, finishing his 2021 season with the Braves with a .178/.302/.342 slash line.
Somehow, Alex Anthopoulos convinced Cleveland to trade Eddie Rosario, who was injured at the time, for Sandoval in a one-to-one swap. Cleveland immediately released Sandoval, while Rosario turned into the greatest hitter who ever existed for exactly a month en route to the Braves winning the 2021 World Series.
Where has Pablo Sandoval been since 2021?
Even though Sandoval hasn't been part of a major league organization since being released right after the Braves traded him, he hasn't stopped playing baseball.
The Panda played 28 games in the Venezuelan Winter League in 2021-2022, which then turned into six games in the Caribbean Series.
In 2022, he played 91 games in the Mexican League with two different clubs and then played 20 games in winter league ball in Puerto Rico.
Most recently, Sandoval took part in Baseball United's inaugural All-Star Showcase games, where he hit a six-run homer (yes, six runs), the first ever for the new league.
Pablo Sandoval just hit the first ever six-run home run
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) November 25, 2023
It was a "moneyball at bat" so the runs counted as double pic.twitter.com/5ST2PUJdPz
It will be interesting to see how Sandoval does this Spring Training, but we're wishing him the best. If you want a great recap on Sandoval's career, check out And That's Baseball's recent video.
While his stint with Atlanta was short-lived, he brought incredible energy to the Braves and that was luckily a precursor for things to come in 2021.