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Giants, Sandoval agree to minor-league deal

Boston Globe / Getty

The Panda is back in the Bay Area.

Pablo Sandoval agreed to a minor-league deal reuniting him with the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. Sandoval will report to Single-A San Jose on Saturday before moving to Triple-A Sacramento for Tuesday.

"He's excited to be here," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said, according to Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. "He looks determined to show he's got a lot of baseball left and that's what we'll find out."

Sandoval's return to San Francisco comes three days after the Boston Red Sox released him three seasons into a five-year, $90-million contract signed prior to the 2015 campaign.

Despite reportedly receiving interest from other teams, including the Kansas City Royals, Sandoval opted to head back to the place where he enjoyed much success. He was a two-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion with the Giants, and was even named the 2012 World Series MVP.

Sandoval became a fan favorite in San Francisco, but drew heavy criticism for his comments in 2015 after he signed with the Red Sox. He said he'd known he was leaving the Giants for some time, and the club didn't make a strong enough effort to keep him around. Sandoval went so far as to say that he would only miss manager Bruce Bochy and outfielder Hunter Pence.

Sandoval's time with the Red Sox was a disaster. He struggled with weight and health issues though parts of three seasons, and appeared in just 161 games, hitting .237/.286/.360 with 14 homers and 101 strikeouts.

Boston is on the hook for the approximately $49.5 million remaining on Sandoval's salary - the second-largest amount of dead money due in MLB history after Josh Hamilton.

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