Is Pablo Sandoval slipping away from the San Francisco Giants? Is Francisco Liriano too expensive for the Pittsburgh Pirates? Based on recent reports, it looks like each of these valuable free agents will have a new team in 2015.
According to Dennis O'Donnell of KPIX in San Francisco, the Giants offered Sandoval a five-year, $90 million contract after the third baseman previously made it clear he wanted a six-year deal. He might feel slighted especially since the team offered him a three-year, $40 million extension during spring training, adding to the fact that he still isn't getting what he wants from the team he helped win three World Series championships.
He met with the Red Sox earlier this week and told Joe Amorosino of 7News Sports that he was "excited" to be in Boston. It was said he met with the team twice in one day, which is not a good sign for the Giants since it was previously reported the Red Sox were "all in" on Sandoval. Earlier today, O'Donnell noted that "there is a 90 percent chance that he will sign with the Red Sox. The other 10 percent goes to the Toronto Blue Jays." The Giants aren't even mentioned because he was told "they were never his first choice."
Giants' officials are considering bumping up the original offer because it's said that's the only way they can get back into contention for his services.
Similarly, free-agent starting pitcher Francisco Liriano looks like he's going to be out of the Pittsburgh Pirates price range. The left-hander, according to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, wants a three-to-four year contract with a $12 million annual salary. Liriano signed a two-year, $7 million contract with the Pirates before the 2013 season and was a part of the club that reached the playoffs in consecutive seasons, ending the team's 20-year postseason drought.
He had two good years with the team, amassing a 23-18 record with a 3.20 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 55 starts. He was great in the postseason during their 2013 run, going 1-0 in two starts (13 IP) with a 2.08 ERA and 0.77 WHIP. However, his salary requests are probably outside of Pittsburgh's budget since they just signed A.J. Burnett to a one-year, $8.5 million deal and have other needs to address. Additionally, the team's largest contract is Andrew McCutchen's six-year, $51.5 deal, so it's hard to believe they'll give a 31-year-old who had his best two seasons since 2006 that type of contract with their limited payroll.
Liriano also has draft pick compensation tied to him since he rejected the Pirates qualifying offer, which means if he signs with another team then Pittsburgh will receive a first round draft pick (if it's outside of the top-10). There's no doubt other teams, specifically the Kansas City Royals, would give Liriano that type of money, it's just not likely to be the Pirates.
