The San Francisco Giants and their slimmed-down Panda are far apart on contract negotiations as Pablo Sandoval wants more years and more money while the Giants are hoping to ink their third baseman to a shorter deal and appear unwilling to meet his financial demands.
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Fox Sports reported that Sandoval, whose contract expires come season's end, wants a five-year or longer deal worth around $90 million while the team is hoping to ink him to a three-year $40 million pact. The report indicates that the sides are "cautiously optimistic" that they'll work something out.
While everything between Sandoval and the team seems fine on the surface in the first month of the season, it would be interesting to see if the sides will begin to get frustrated with each other as the seasons go on. The Giants may be worried about Sandoval keeping his commitment to fitness while Sandoval feels as though he's done enough to warrant a big deal.
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Sandoval is a two-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion with the Giants thus far in his career and is looking for the team back to the playoffs this season after a rare hiccup in 2013 that saw the team finish 76-86, unable to defend its World Series title by missing the playoffs.
Sandoval, 27, hit .278 last season with 14 homers and 79 RBIs through 104 games and is hitting .148 (4-for-27) thus far this season with a homer, a double, four RBIs, four runs and five walks.
It remains to be seen if the stalling in talks will become a strain on the team's relationship with its third baseman or if it will affect his on-field performance.
Sandoval has a career .296 average with 91 homers and 393 RBIs.
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