The much ballyhooed contract of Zito is officially off the books.
Kelly L Cox – USA TODAY Sports
The San Francisco Giants made it official: Barry Zito will not return for 2014. I know this surprises no one. A couple of weeks ago, Zito himself saw the writing on the wall by taking out a full-page ad in a local newspaper.
Had the Giants elected to pick up Zito’s option, he was in line to make $18MM for the 2014 season. Instead, The Giants will supply Zito with a $7MM buyout.
In his career in San Francisco, Zito posted a 63-80 record to along with his 4.62 ERA and 1.439 WHIP. He never lived up to the hype after inking the infamous seven-year, $126MM deal. In those seven years as a Giant,only once did Zito have a record over .500 and never posted an ERA under 4.00. His bWAR for those seven seasons was 3.0. In his seven years in Oakland, his bWAR was 30.9.
And who knew there was even an option for Torres? Apparently no one, not even Hank Schulman who covers the Giants for The San Francisco Chronicle. No one can find anything stating an option existed.
The only decision the Giants have yet to make is the $6.5MM option on pitcher Ryan Vogelsong. That decision will be made by Monday.