"The Giants showed a lot of faith in Pablo Sandoval by giving him a three-year, $17.15 million contract. That does not mean they are going to stop leaning on him about his weight.

Manager Bruce Bochy said Friday that he had a chat with Sandoval during a minicamp in Arizona last month about some weight gain.

"He knows he's got a few pounds to lose," Bochy said. "He did it last year. He looks better now than when I saw him two weeks ago."

Sandoval told several reporters that part of his extra weight is muscle from his winter workouts in Arizona. He did not look hefty as he sat in a suite at AT&T Park, and Sandoval insisted he has learned his lesson after struggling through the 2010 season, when he was his heaviest.

"I say, 'Thank you' every time I can to Brian Sabean for being tough with me," Sandoval said."