Pablo Sandoval reportedly looking for six years

Pablo Sandoval was reportedly looking for five years before the season started, at something close to the $90 million that Hunter Pence received. If that report is true -- and I have no idea if it was fiction or not -- the Giants were fools not to sign it. Here is the harvest from those seeds:

Talked to Sandoval’s agent, Gustavo Vasquez. Sandoval wants at least 6 years. At 28, length of deal more important than last $. #SFGiants

— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) November 7, 2014

If he's looking for six, he'll get seven. This is a seller's market, and Pablo is selling offense, which isn't readily available on the black market these days. No one expected the Jayson Werth deal. No expected the Jacoby Ellsbury or Shin-Soo Choo deals. Desirable player + free agency + desperation + TV money = Ridiculous deals.

Six years would bring Sandoval up to his age-34 season, when his reflexes will have slowed and he'll look like a less athletic David Wells. That's expected. That's the price of buying a player. You have to assume the player is going to be a dud by the end. The Cubs just stopped paying Alfonso Soriano. They didn't really think he was going to be good in 2014. That's what it took to get Soriano in 2008.

Reminder that there were people desperate for the Giants to sign Soriano.

Sandoval wants six years. That shouldn't be a surprise. The surprise should come when the Rockies give him eight, move Arenado to short, and trade Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez for Corey Kluber. Six years for Sandoval is kind of the standard by this point. Get used to that or get used to a new third baseman.