San Francisco Giants Barry Zito clears trade waivers
By Bryan Rose
In the final year (essentially) of his albatross seven year, $126 million dollar contract, embattled San Francisco Giants starter Barry Zito has cleared waivers.
Clearing waivers allows the Giants to trade the aging starter without interference, assuming there is a team willing to make a move.
On the surface, it doesn’t seem likely. Zito, after a mild resurgence last season (not to mention playing a vital role in the Giants’ World Series run) has regressed back to his sub-par form which lead to his ousting from the starting rotation.
That said – Zito would come extremely cheap. The Giants would be open to moving Zito if ANY money was taken off their hands, so even if an opposing team was to offer a low level prospect or a small amount of cash in return for Zito, with the Giants picking up the remaining tab, the orange and black would do so running away.
Zito’s contract runs through the 2014 season, however, there is a $7 million dollar buyout for next season meaning any team (including the Giants) would need to pay Zito off to avoid that final contract year.
A trade doesn’t seem likely, but Zito’s been in big games before and performed well – recently as last season. If he comes cheap enough, does a team make the move?