Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
OAKLAND — Pablo Sandoval’s season, for all intents and purposes, is finished. As a to-be free agent, his Giants tenure may be, too. Is his 12-year career?
“This is not the end of my career,” Sandoval said Saturday, after settling upon Tommy John surgery on his right, throwing elbow. “I’m going to come back stronger.”
The beloved Giant, in his second go-round in San Francisco, may get one more at-bat before early-September surgery, a notion Bruce Bochy is playing with, but he may have played his final game in a Giants uniform — Bochy, in his final season, outlasting him.
What comes after surgery is not clear. Position players are able to return to the field faster than pitchers. Sandoval mentioned both Shohei Ohtani and Didi Gregorius, Ohtani swinging again five months after surgery, Gregorius six months. Trainer Dave Groeschner was sure Sandoval would be able to play next season and said the Giants would keep an eye on Sandoval throughout his rehab, even after Sandoval officially becomes a free agent. Sandoval was not sure whether the bulk of his offseason would be spent in Miami, where he lives, or in San Francisco.
“He likes to play baseball too much. He’ll be back on the field,” Bruce Bochy said. “Who he is, this game is his life. He has a lot of baseball left — he showed that this year.”
This year, Sandoval has resurrected his career, becoming a valuable pinch-hitter and first and third baseman, slashing .269/.314/.509 in the final year that the Red Sox are paying him. He had flamed out of Boston and learned he could come home again, San Francisco welcoming him back and Sandoval, as lovable as they come, responding on the field.
All things equal, “I want to be here,” Sandoval said about next season. “It’s not my decision.”
That’s another for Farhan Zaidi. But barring that one last plate appearance, Sandoval has dressed in orange and black for the last time with Bochy. Bochy, who’s “like my dad,” Sandoval said, will not have him by his side as he waves goodbye to the Giants and Major League Baseball.
“I really haven’t thought about that. But selfishly, sure, I’d love to have some fun with him here,” Bochy said. “… His love for the game, his enthusiasm. Every day he comes in with a smile on his face.”
Bruce Bochy hopes Pablo Sandoval can get one more at-bat before surgery. #SFGiants pic.twitter.com/KUcpXmfg60
— KNBR (@KNBR) August 24, 2019