Pablo Sandoval is almost probably going to be playing for the Red Sox next season, and this means that thousands of Giants fans will need to burn / toss their panda hats and panda masks in 2015. As CBS5 reports, via some unnamed sources, Sandoval traveled to Boston on Tuesday and "there is a 90 percent chance that he will sign with the Red Sox." The Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox are apparently also luring Sandoval, and he's apparently pissed at the Giants for offering him too little too late.
As the story goes, Pablo wanted a five-year deal last season, but the Giants didn't give it to him because they were "justifiably suspicious about Pablo’s physical condition." Now they're offering him a five-year contract and $90 million, which is the same thing they're offering Hunter Pence, and Pablo is upping the ante to seven years now.
The Giants are reportedly highly unlikely to meet Pablo's demands, and Pablo seems to have one foot already out the door but that could also just be grandstanding for negotiation's sake.
The Boston Globe reports that the Giants are still in the running for Sandoval's services, and that Sandoval was seeking a six-year deal from the Red Sox in the neighborhood of $120 million. A similar deal was offered by the Sox to A's pitcher Jon Lester, who's also currently a free agent.
Stay tuned.