Free agent third baseman Pablo Sandoval has been the subject of a lot of hot stove rumors thus far this offseason, and the latest word is that the Toronto Blue Jays could be preparing to present an offer to the three-time World Series champion.
MLB.com reports that the Blue Jays have been linked to Sandoval after officially introducing catcher Russell Martin, who they signed to a five-year $82 million contract on Monday.
While several outlets believe Toronto is prepared to throw a contract offer at Sandoval, general manager Alex Anthopoulos attempted to fan the flames by downplaying Toronto's interest at Martin's introductory press conference on Thursday.
"We're not close to anything," Anthopoulos told MLB.com. "We don't have any offers out to anybody, we're not being 'aggressive' with anybody. Our focus was on Martin and that just took a lot of time and energy. We didn't have five balls in the air, it was sole singular focus on getting him done."
The Blue Jays have many hurdles in the way of signing Sandoval, as he's the most sought-after third baseman on the market right now and the team doesn't offer contracts that exceed five years.
The 28-year-old is said to be in the market for six-year deal worth in the neighborhood of $90-100 million after turning down a one-year $15.3 million qualifying offer from San Francisco, which could be difficult for Toronto to overcome unless Anthopoulos wavers on his policy.
The Giants remain right in the mix to retain Sandoval, who signed with the team in 2003. Sandoval has played his entire seven-year career in San Francisco and has popped champagne as a World Series champion in a Giants uniform in three of the last five years.
Other teams said to be in the mix include the San Diego Padres and the Boston Red Sox, who met with the Kung Fu Panda and are expected to put an offer on the table soon.
Sandoval hit .279 with 16 homers and 73 RBI in the 2014 campaign through 157 games and then continued to pad his solid October resume by hitting .366 this postseason with seven doubles and five RBI.
Sandoval hit .429 in the Giants' seven-game World Series win over the Kansas City Royals last month and hit three doubles while driving in four runs. Sandoval also squeezed the final out on a pop up to third base to secure San Francisco's World Series win in what could have been his final play as a member of the Giants.
Sandoval, a two-time MLB All-Star and the 2012 World Series MVP, has a career .294 batting average in the regular season with 106 homers and 462 RBI.
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