SF Giants will reportedly have a surprise instructor in camp

Spring training is beginning to wind down but the SF Giants will have a surprise instructor stop by. John Shea of The San Francisco Standard reports that Pablo Sandoval is expected to arrive in Giants camp soon.

SF Giants will reportedly have a surprise instructor in camp

As Shea notes, the Giants have done a nice job of bringing back players from the championship run this spring. That is an element that has been missing to some degree in recent years.

Players like Hunter Pence, Joe Panik, and Javier López have been regular attendees. However, this spring has included players who have kept a lower profile in retirement, like Yusmeiro Petit, Marco Scutaro, and Santiago Casilla.

In particular, Petit and Casilla have mentored Doval this spring, and the early returns, albeit in spring training, have been promising. The hard-throwing reliever has yielded just one earned run on seven strikeouts and one walk.

Now, Sandoval will join the mix. It feels like years ago, but the 14-year veteran came into Giants camp last year as a non-roster invitee. His odds of making the club were always low but it was a story to follow. As expected, Sandoval did not make the club and was released right before the start of the regular season. Though, Giants fans did a chance to embrace him one more time on the field in one of the final games of spring training last year.

Since then, Sandoval joined the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League. He slashed .248/.314/.362 with 10 home runs and 79 RBI in 528 plate appearances. He may not be the All-Star hitter he was earlier in his career, but he can still hit.

Plus, the 38-year-old even appeared on the mound for the Ferry Hawks, recording 7.1 scoreless frames across three outings.

More recently, the World Series champion has been playing with the Mid East Falcons of Baseball United in Dubai. That league has a lot of former MLB players, so there will be plenty of "Oh yeah, I remember him" moments if you look at their rosters.

More than anything, Sandoval still brings an infectious joy to the game. That quality will keep getting you invited back to the ballpark again and again.