By DavidKaye
According to reports Barry Zito is expected to sign with the San Francisco Giants. Many teams including the Rangers, Mets, Mariners and Yankees were in the running for the long time Oakland Athletic, but he has decided to remain in the Bay Area.
The two time all star will sign a seven year, $126 million dollar contract. This is going to be the largest deal ever given to a pitcher in baseball history and Zito can make up to $144 million if his option for 2014 is picked up by the Giants.
This is a major acquisition for the Giants and general manger Brian Sabean who have been pretty quiet on the Zito front up until now. The deal makes sense for the left hander because he already lives in San Francisco and he was offered $42 million more by his Giants, than he was by the Texas Rangers.
With Zito headed to the Giants the NL West becomes very ambigious. Even with a new manager and ace pitcher,the Giants still find themselves
a step behind of the competition in the tough NL West.The Rockies and Diamondbacks are two teams who have installed a great foundation for the future, but are still several years away from being serious contenders.
Still, the Padres and Dodgers remain the front runners for the division crown.
Finally, the biggest pitcher on the market has signed and the baseball off season can begin to slow down with no major players left on the market.
