MLB Rumors: San Francisco Giants put extension talks with Pablo Sandoval on hold

San Francisco Giants’ third baseman Pablo Sandoval will be a free agent at season’s end. The team faces the interesting decision, then, of whether or not they should try to lock him up to an extension before that.

At age 27, it would seem that Sandoval should be in the midst of his prime based on the arc of most position players’ careers. Sandoval’s situation is different, though, having mostly to do with the way his weight has fluctuated and the way that he has been run down in the final months of regular seasons because he was heavy.

In that somewhat complicated context, the Giants did explore an extension for Sandoval this off-season and into this month. Sandoval reportedly wants a five-year deal, and the Giants are reportedly reluctant to make that commitment. Earlier on Tuesday we heard that the two sides were far apart, and now general manager Brian Sabean says those talks are on hold.

The exact causes behind that impasse are unknown, but one imagines it is the combination of Sandoval’s weight and his contract demands. It will be interesting to see if talks are re-opened during the season or if Sandoval will indeed be headed for free agency in 2015.