Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
Bruce Bochy did not sound as if he wanted a farewell at-bat for Pablo Sandoval.
It was not sentiment Bochy craved; he wanted a “weapon” back.
The Giants manager again called a Sandoval return before his Tommy John surgery a “possibility,” suggesting that if Sandoval could pull it off, he would love his lefty bat off the bench for more than just a one at-bat stunt.
“He’d be a nice weapon to have,” Bochy said before the Giants-Padres game Thursday at Oracle Park. “That’s a pretty good hitter to have come off the bench. If he’s able to do it, [if] he’s shown he can swing the bat for a couple days, I’m good with it.”
Next up for Sandoval, who ran in the outfield before the game, is actually swinging, which will happen “in the next day or two. If not today in the cage,” Bochy said.
Bochy believed Sandoval’s surgery to be Sept. 4, so at-bats would have to be squeezed in before that. As of Monday, the Panda hadn’t picked up a bat yet and said his right elbow felt “sore.” Sandoval will be a free agent at season’s end.
“He can be in more than one game,” Bochy said of Sandoval, who figures to return this weekend against San Diego, if at all. “A lot depends on how he feels, his availability.”
Johnny Cueto will be pitching Saturday for Triple-A Sacramento, Bochy announced. It’s expected to be Cueto’s final tune-up before he rejoins the rotation 13 months after Tommy John surgery. Cueto will throw 70-75 pitches, Bochy said.