Giants GM Brian Sabean publicly confirmed they made Pablo Sandoval an offer over two weeks ago. That was in the post-World Series press conference. So, one could reason that that offer has been negotiated to include different numbers and years, but it's still a confirmed offer. Henry Schulman's report today, along with assistant GM Bobby Evans' radio interview, indicate that the Giants are still actively involved in signing Sandoval. Schulman reported Pablo's agent has asked the Giants for their final, best offer. There is no confirmation how many offers have passed between them in the last two weeks. But there's at least one CONFIRMED offer out there and one more coming/submitted from the Giants. Sabean and Evans could be lying, but that seems doubtful as Pablo's agents haven't refuted any of those reports. So before calling anything I say pure BS, know what you're talking about.
I am considering Pablo Sandoval and his agents fielding calls and meetings from the Blue Jays, Padres and unnamed others as due diligence. Actually, the Red Sox fits into that, too. See who's interested and how interested. Due diligence.
I find it odd that the Red Sox do not have an offer out to Sandoval yet. I realize contracts are difficult, but there have been nearly two full working days since he was in Boston. Evans said today his feeling is that Pablo wants to get this done very quickly, before Thanksgiving at the latest. It's not like these contracts are all drawn up from scratch, so preparing a formal offer should be able to get done within that time frame, especially on a target that isn't interested in waiting around. So, yes, I think the Red Sox are waiting for something. Maybe it's the Giants' final offer, maybe it's to see what the Blue Jays, Padres and others are doing. Maybe it's because the Red Sox aren't so hot on Sandoval after hearing from him about what he wants and expects.
It stands to reason that Sandoval came to Boston to familiarize himself with and be sold on the team and the city, but also so the executives could meet with him and determine the depth of their own interest. They know all about Pablo's stats and reputation, but there's no indication they've ever met with him before. You don't give someone a job without having an interview, no matter what that job is. Sandoval's publicly stated that he doesn't think he has to worry about his weight/conditioning until he's in his 30s. That's a question they might like to ask him personally to see if that perspective has changed or will change. It isn't totally outside the realm of possibility that the Red Sox have cooled on Sandoval. It's also not outside the realm of possibility that they're just really slow at making offers.