Report: Red Sox offer Sandoval 5-year, $95M deal

Pablo Sandoval has a reported five-year, $95-million contract offer on the table from the Boston Red Sox, according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.

The contract is in line with the reported five or six years and $100 million the third baseman is apparently seeking. Cafardo says a source indicated to him that Boston's offer may be the most lucrative one Sandoval has been presented with.

Sandoval makes plenty of sense for the Red Sox and would represent a clear upgrade over incumbent Will Middlebrooks, who has amassed a .237/.284/.411 hitting line over parts of three inconsistent and injury-plagued seasons.

Solid defense at the hot corner and an above-average bat has made the switch-hitting Sandoval one of the top commodities on the open market this offseason. The 28-year-old, who has spent his entire seven-year career with the San Francisco Giants, is a career .294/.346/.465 hitter.

Sandoval, who's attached to draft-pick compensation after rejecting San Francisco's $15.3 million qualifying offer, has helped the Giants win three World Series titles in the last five years. San Francisco would reportedly like to bring him back, and the San Diego Padres are also believed to be in the mix for his services, too.