Pablo Sandoval and his agents boarded a flight Wednesday afternoon from Boston, and the Red Sox are expected to make an offer by Thursday or so in what looks like a strong and spirited competition between at least five teams, including the favored, big-market Boston and San Francisco teams.
The plan seems to be to go back, offers in hand, to the Giants, where the beloved Sandoval has won three rings, to see where they stand. But that doesn't necessarily make San Francisco an overwhelming favorite, not when there are at least five interested teams and a belief among some that like most free agents the offers ultimately will be the vital factor here.
There's no word yet on what the Red Sox will be offering, but with prices moving up, the Red Sox needing offense and it becoming clear he's their first positional target, the number would be expected to be significant. Sandoval seeks a nine-figure deal, as was suggested here first, and the market seems to heading toward that goal, if not very close. Russell Martin, a 31-year-old catcher, just signed for $82 million over five years, so there's little doubt at this point Sandoval, 28, will get at least a five-year deal, if not six or seven.