The Giants would insure a peaceful end to their blissful offseason and they appeared destined to skirt salary-arbitration hearings.
With right-hander Santiago Casilla, the Giants settled on terms of a one-year, $1.3 million contract. The finalizing of Casilla’s deal was delayed due to mere procedural matters. With outfielder Cody Ross and starting left-handed pitcher Jonathan Sanchez, the San Francisco Giants reached an agreement on one-year contracts.
In the Giants run to the 2010 World Series title, both Ross and Sanchez played a major role. Sanchez turned in a solid regular season with 13 wins and a 3.07 ERA, while Ross was named the MVP of the NLCS. For the upcoming season, Pitcher Ramon Ramirez also reportedly reached a deal. The Giants are also in the process of trying to sign pitchers outfielder Andres Torres, Javier Lopez and Santiago Casilla.
For $4.8 million, Sanchez agreed to terms on a one-year deal. A very strong 2010 campaign was put together by Sanchez that earned him a sizable raise. 193 1/3 innings, he posted a 3.07 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 205 strikeouts. As the number three starter behind Tim Linecum and Matt Cain, he will head into spring training. Between Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner and maybe even Barry Zito, it will make an interesting battle to see who steps up as the number three.
On a one-year deal for $6.3 million, Ross agreed to terms. After joining the Giants in late August, Ross had a fairly pedestrian regular season. However, Ross was capped by NLCS MVP honors and he put together a big postseason that included five homeruns. Next season, Ross will head into free agency.
With a potential $50,000 in performance-based incentives, Casilla agreed to terms on a one-year deal for $1.3 million. Casilla was a solid performer out of the bullpen, although he had his struggles at times. Over 55 1/3 innings, he finished 2010 with a 1.95 ERA and 56/26 K/BB ratio. In high leverage innings, he might get himself more work, if he can repeat that in 2011.
With financial terms not yet disclosed, Ramirez agreed to terms on a one-year deal. The Giants put together some solid numbers pitching in 25 games for the Giants and posting a 0.67 ERA and 0.89 WHIP and acquired Ramirez from the Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline. His K/BB ratio was 15/11.
