Shoulder surgery ended Freddy Sanchez’s season in mid-June, but he’s under contract for $6 million in 2012 and said yesterday that he hopes to be in the Opening Day lineup.
Sanchez told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that he’s advanced to throwing from 60 feet, saying “the shoulder is coming along great” and “my strength has come a long way.”
Sanchez has missed nearly 50 percent of the Giants’ games since they acquired him from the Pirates in mid-2009, yet general manager Brian Sabean has signed him to a pair of contract extensions during that time.
If healthy he’ll combine with Brandon Crawford as the Giants’ new double-play duo, but San Francisco also has Mike Fontenot around as a backup plan.
