San Francisco Giants 2017 Player Review: The Infielders
Eduardo Nunez and Pablo Sandoval
San Francisco Giants. EDUARDO NUNEZ. A-. . 3B
The primary third baseman went from one of the bright spots from the 2017 season to one of the bright spot from the 2014 season.
No Giants fan could have predicted the season the Giants had at third base. The season started with Eduardo Nunez, who began the season in a terrible slump.
His slump was bad enough that the team rushed top prospect up to the big leagues to bring some life into the lineup. Christian Arroyo did that briefly, but was eventually demoted. Nunez took full advantage of the second chance and ended up having a borderline All-Star 1st half.
As the trade deadline approached and it was clear that the Giants would not be able to compete, they decided to trade Nunez to the Boston Red Sox.
D-. . 3B/1B. San Francisco Giants. PABLO SANDOVAL
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In an incredible plot twist no fan saw coming, former post-season hero and World Series Most Valuable Player Pablo Sandoval was released by the Red Sox in a separate transaction and the Giants brought him back.
Sandoval finished the season as the team’s primary third baseman. That is a sentence that no Giants writer expected to write again about a current Giants team. His comments after he originally left San Francisco are well documented. However, it was also clear that Sandoval was a huge reason the Giants won three championships and bringing him back for the league minimum was a low risk move.
Third base is clearly the most unknown position heading into 2018. Sandoval did not do well enough to warrant the starting job heading into Spring Training. Nunez, who will be a free agent, is a possibility to return, and said as much when he was traded. The team also could go with Arroyo or Ryder Jones or another free agent option like Mike Moustakas or a trade option like Evan Longoria.
Next: Giants 2017 Outfield Review
The only thing that is clear about third base in 2018 is how unclear it is.
Here is the schedule for the rest of our player grades.
- Oct 7th: Outfield
- Oct 7th: Infield
- Oct 8th: Starters
- Oct 9th: Bullpen
- Oct 10th: Catchers
- Oct 11th: Management