Back in 2006, all the buzz was about how Barry Zito signed the largest contract in the MLB for a pitcher. In 2011 that contract is still the talk of the baseball world, but for all the wrong reasons.
By signing the seven year contract, Zito immediately became the richest pitcher in baseball history. His contract was worth $126 million and included another option year in 2014.
Just over half way through his contract, the Giants I’m sure have been trying to find some kind of way to move Zito and the $60+ million left on it.
The tricky thing in this whole story is how Zito has grossly underperformed and has not lived up to the contract and the expectations that come with signing such a large one.
Zito has shown signs of breaking through. He went 8-4 with an 3.51 ERA through about half the season. After that, you know the story. He failed to reach 10 wins for the first time in his career and he didn’t even reach the 7th inning once in his final ten appearances.
Given the emergence of Madison Bumgarner and the rest of the young Giants staff, Zito could very well be used as trade bait. He could be used not necessarily to get players in return, but instead be used as a mere salary dump.
Here are 10 realistic trade scenarios where Zito can be traded to.