Giants signed Bobby Howry Wednesday; Renteria will receive
two-year contract worth $18.5 million
SAN FRANCISCO
Edgar Renteria became the second free agent to join the San Francisco Giants in as many days, receiving an $18.5 million, two-year contract to replace 11-time Gold Glove shortstop Omar Vizquel.
“He is a complete player on both sides of the ball, a clutch performer and a winner,” Giants general manager Brian Sabean said in a statement Thursday announcing the deal. “He has the hardware to show it with the awards he has garnered and a World Series ring. We look forward to seeing him in a Giants uniform.”
Renteria gets a $2 million signing bonus, $7 million next year and $9 million in 2010. The Giants have a $10.5 million option for 2011 with a $500,000 buyout.
Sabean has had a busy week, signing right-handed reliever Bobby Howry to a one-year contract Wednesday and following that up by getting things done with Renteria. The sides were close after a meeting Wednesday.
“We have clearly passed all the hurdles and there’s nothing else to do on terms, nothing else to do in respects to a physical,” Renteria’s agent, Barry Meister, said earlier Thursday in a phone interview. “I always let the team make the announcement.”
The Detroit Tigers declined to offer Renteria salary arbitration Monday.
Renteria, a 13-year big league veteran, will be looking to have a better year in 2009. He batted .270 with 10 homers and 55 RBIs this past season for the Tigers, who after the year declined their $11 million option for Renteria and gave him a $3 million buyout.
“The key for Edgar Renteria was he wanted to get back in the National League,” Meister said. “He wanted to play on a team that would be a contender, a club based on pitching and defense. He could not be succeeding a better player. He feels he’s a great fit in that lineup. He’s all about wanting to win again.”
The Giants haven’t reached the playoffs since 2003 and were in a rebuilding phase last season, going 72-90 while using many young players in key roles. Having a veteran shortstop will be a big help considering Vizquel provided that kind of stability during his four years with the club.
Sabean said after the 2008 season there was “zero” chance the Giants would bring back the 41-year-old Vizquel despite his popularity and still-reliable defense in the middle of the infield.
San Francisco also had been interested in Rafael Furcal, but the 33-year-old Renteria certainly became less of a medical risk considering Furcal – also being courted by the Oakland Athletics – was sidelined for all but 36 games last season for the Los Angeles Dodgers because of back problems that required surgery.
With the acquisition of Renteria, Sabean now might look to trade talented prospect Emmanuel Burriss – or give Burriss more time to develop and perhaps even use him at second base. The 23-year-old Burriss, selected by San Francisco in the first round of the 2006 draft, played 95 games last season as a rookie.
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Story by Janie McCauley, AP Sports Writer
