3 Reasons Pablo Sandoval Would Be a Poor Fit for the New York Yankees

San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval will be one of the most sought-after free agents when he hits the open market this winter.

At the very least, "Kung Fu Panda" will headline this year's class of available third basemen. His free-agent profile is an interesting one.

At 28 years of age, Sandoval is still in what would be considered the prime of his career. The thing is, his numbers the past few seasons have not reflected that. His OPS has declined over the past four seasons and he has not hit .300 since 2011. Despite his size, Sandoval remains a solid defender at the hot corner, as indicated by his improved defensive WAR in 2014.

His size, along with other health issues, remains a concern. At 5'11" and 245 pounds, Sandoval is not your average third baseman.

Still, he is quite talented, plus he comes with plenty of postseason experience. The question is whether or not he will get the five-year, $100 million contract he reportedly wants.

With all of that said, here are three reasons why the New York Yankees should steer clear of Sandoval.

After a year-long suspension and yet another fall from grace, Alex Rodriguez is slated to return to action in 2014.

Whether he is actually capable of manning third or putting up average offensive production remains to be seen.

Would it be nice to have a player like Sandoval at third, shifting Rodriguez to full-time designated hitter duties? Of course it would. After a year of not playing and two hip surgeries, it would be great to tell the 39-year-old Rodriguez to forget about the field and just worry about hitting.

However, Rodriguez is scheduled to make $61 million through 2017, a number that is still mind-boggling.

As talented as Sandoval is, it just does not make sense for the Yankees to spend that money on him considering their investment in Rodriguez and other players who can play the position that are already on the roster.

The Yankees will have other needs in free agency, particularly at shortstop and the rotation, so that is where they need to allot their money. 

Speaking of other players on the roster who can play third base, Martin Prado is one of them.

If Rodriguez cannot handle being an everyday fielder again, the versatile Prado is the perfect insurance policy, and the Yankees already have him locked up for the next two years.

Prado, aside from being a strong leader in the clubhouse, gives the Yankees a strong defensive option at third who also brings solid contact to the lineup. A career .291 hitter, Prado hit .316 with an .877 OPS and seven home runs in 37 games after New York picked him up in a trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the July 31 trade deadline. 

Prado can play just about anywhere, having spent time at every position except center field, catcher and pitcher. He is most comfortable at third, left field and second base. With prospects Rob Refsnyder and Jose Pirela expected to compete for playing time at second in 2015, the Yankees will have a very crowded infield.

There is no need to throw Sandoval in the mix.

Should the Yankees decide Prado is not enough of a suitable backup plan for Rodriguez, they could elect to bring in another free-agent third-bagger.

Once again, Sandoval is not the logical answer here. Chase Headley, another midseason acquisition, makes more sense for the Yankees for several reasons.

To start with, he will be cheaper. Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors believes Headley will get a deal in the four-year, $48 million range, although he could get even less thanks to his inconsistent offensive numbers over the past few years.

The second reason is that Headley ranks among the game's best defenders, as he displayed time and time again after the Yankees got him. When using UZR, Headley was the best in baseball in 2014. When looking at defensive runs saved, he was third. Simply put, few can pick it like Headley can.

Lastly, the 30-year-old can also play some first base when needed. Granted, so can Sandoval, but not as well. With Mark Teixeira always at risk of injury, a backup first baseman who is strong defensively is a must.

All in all, Headley is a better fit for the Yankees' needs than Sandoval is.

All stats were obtained via Baseball-Reference.

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