We could know as early as Monday night where the Boston Red Sox stand on signing Pablo Sandoval. The free-agent third baseman has arrived in Boston on Monday to meet with the team. Meanwhile in Detroit, the Tigers have picked up catcher Alex Avila's $5.4 million option for 2015.
It was reported last week that the Red Sox were going "all in" on signing Sandoval, which could mean offering him a contract in excess of $100 million. Boston may have some leverage because San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean presented Sandoval with a three-year, $40 million extension during spring training, which the third baseman promptly turned down. Now San Francisco is working to retain him, but they'll face some competition.
The pursuit of Sandoval is believed to be limited to the Giants and Red Sox, but it was reported today that the San Diego Padres have entered the mix. It's not known how great their interest is, but as of right now they're likely being viewed as having limited interest like the White Sox and Blue Jays. Whatever the case, Sandoval was spotted at a Boston airport by local news station WHDH. He told the station's sports director, Joe Amorosino, he's "excited" to be in Boston to meet with the Red Sox.
ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes writes that the Red Sox "might have to outbid the Giants by a significant margin to wrest Sandoval away, but there is little doubt they will make a strong bid to sign him." Sandoval has spent his entire career with the Giants and helped them win three World Series titles since 2010.
The Tigers have also been busy on the free-agent market, but they've been working to retain some of their own players. They've already re-signed Victor Martinez to a four-year, $68 million contract last week and continue to gauge the situation with starting pitcher Max Scherzer and outfielder Torii Hunter. Today the team picked up catcher Alex Avila's $5.4 million option for 2015, increasing their payroll to $127 million. The 27-year-old has struggled since his All-Star season in 2011, but the Tigers deemed his $5.4 million salary to be suitable for a player of his caliber. After all, he's been catching a majority of games for the team since 2010.
Avila slashed .218/.327/.359 in 2014 to go along with 11 home runs and 47 RBIs. His 2011 season featured an impressive stat line of .295/.389/.506 with 19 home runs and 82 RBIs, and at only 27 years of age the Tigers suspect he's capable of another year like that. He battled concussion issues over the past couple of years, which could explain his declining performance, but he's been cleared to resume his baseball career. That's good news for both Avila and the Tigers.
The Red Sox and Tigers are continuing to stay active in the free agent market, so we'll see where they end up when it's all said and done.
