Pablo Sandoval's Giants Return Is Explained by Hilarious Farhan Al-Zaidi – NBC Sports Bay Area and California

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – As Pablo Sandoval prepared for his unexpected comeback last month, he blew up phones throughout the Giants organization. The man who ultimately made the decision to place Sandoval on the spring roster was no exception.

When asked why the Giants added the 37-year-old to their non-roster invitees, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi offered a humorous response in a text message sent to beat writers.

Al-Zaidi said: “We had to sign Pablo because the training videos he was sending me were taking up all the space on my phone.”

Sandoval may truly be in the best shape of his life, and to say the least, he's been downsized significantly compared to most of his previous 1,149 games with the Giants. He moves well and feels good about his swing, and when he met with reporters before the first full-squad practice on Monday, he said this isn't a gimmick.

Sandoval hopes to make the team, or at least set himself up for another run somewhere in Major League Baseball. He knows it's a long shot, but his message to head coach Bob Melvin was basically: “Never tell me the odds.”

“He doesn't want to hear anything about his chances,” Melvin said. “He's going to go out there and he's going to make plays and he's going to try to force us.”

The Giants plan to get Sandoval reps at the corners this spring and he spent most of his day Monday backing up J.D. Davis at third base. Among the players, Sandoval shared a laugh with midfielder Marco Luciano, but also offered some advice. The Giants hope he can be a mentor to young Spanish-speakers, and fellow Venezuelan Luis Matos said he has received excited text messages from Sandoval in recent weeks.