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Working his way back from a foot injury which occurred in April, Barry Zito is almost ready to re-join the big league club.  After three tune-up games in the minors, the question no one wants to answer looms like a frightening beacon of light over the San Francisco bay.

What do you do with Barry Zito?

His replacement Ryan Vogelsong has pitched exceptionally well going  4-1 with an E.R.A. under two since taking over Zito’s spot in the rotation. His success has made it tough to justify demoting him when Zito returns. 

On the other hand, Zito was the fourth starter when he went down, and it is difficult to ignore the fact the team still owes him close to $60 million.

Several articles on how to solve this pitching conundrum have been written, but all ended up with no viable conclusion. Even the latest Hardy Boys novel, previously slated to hit bookshelves next week, The Plight of Zito, and The Secret at Alcatraz, was halted when this mystery could not be solved. 

So what now?

Sending Vogelsong to the bullpen seems like the most logical option, but that is simply because as a starter, Zito typically surrenders one or more first inning runs each time out while he tries to get his pitches to work.

Additionally, one would break out in hives just at the thought of Zito coming out of the bullpen when the game is on the line. That would take “Giants Torture” to a level a San Quentin Prison guard would not have the stomach for.  

All this does is punish Vogelsong for appearing to be the better option than Zito coming out of the bullpen which doesn’t seem fair either.

An outright release of Zito would waste millions of dollars and even just the mention of a trade shouldn’t be tolerated, unless you and your friends are high on nitrates after eating too many Giants dogs at AT&T Park and are not thinking correctly. No team wants him.

There are some saying his mechanics are looking better.  

Pitching mechanics?

No.

Car mechanics now wearing gold jewelry, designer clothes and hair implants reaping the benefits from Zito’s $126 million dollar contract as they work on his expanding vehicle collection?

Yes.

If Cy Young, Nolan Ryan and Abner Doubleday were on a field together, they couldn’t improve Zito’s pitching mechanics at this point in the veteran’s career, and Doubleday invented the game (credited with at least).

So, with no favorable solution in sight, I’ve conjured up just the right elixirs on what to do with the lefty, all of which maintain two key objectives:

1. Get the most out of his remaining contract 

2. Ensure he doesn’t have to actually throw a pitch.

All of these ideas will save the Giants money in the long haul and keep the team’s ERA at a respectable clip, while allowing Vogelsong to continue in the rotation. It is truly a win-win for everyone.

As a disclaimer, turn on your wit and settle in with a pint of refreshing ale for this slideshow of Zito tomfoolery. None of these solutions are even remotely sane and will be considered as real options, yet all are in good fun.   

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San Francisco Giants left-hander Barry Zito sprained a ligament in his foot on Saturday night and had to leave a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

A strained ligament can only be so serious, right?

Listening to manager Bruce Bochy describe the nature of the injury on his KNBR pregame radio show Sunday gave the impression that the Giants organization could be viewing Zito’s freak injury as an opportunity to keep the struggling pitcher out of the starting rotation—for a good, long while.

“He sprained a ligament in the middle of his foot,” Bochy said on KNBR.

“It’s the type injury where Barry could be out two or three weeks…or two or three months. He needs to have some more tests done to determine the severity of the injury.”

Strained foot ligament and he’s out three months?

Zito is in the fifth season of the seven-year, $127 million free-agent contract he signed with the Giants. Zito is 40-45 as a Giant, but has pitched far worse than the record indicates and nowhere near like the Cy Young Award winner he was with the Oakland Athletics. 

The Giants have tried to minimize the impact of Zito’s struggles on the pitching staff that led the club to the world championship in 2010. For instance, after pitching terribly down the stretch, the 32-year-old was left off of the postseason roster last fall.

He was relegated to the bullpen, briefly, earlier in his career with the Giants.

Zito, however, has never missed a big league start due to injury—never. That made it impossible for the Giants to use the DL to get Zito out of the rotation, in spite of the fact the teams use the DL very creatively to sideline players who are struggling.

Zito’s iron-man reputation kept them from exercising the “dead arm” excuse to a struggling starting pitcher who just needs to disappear.

The New York Yankees put young Phil Hughes on the DL last week with a “dead arm.” His velocity dropped precipitously during spring training and kept dropping when this regular season began.

Hughes has had arm problems in the past, so a “dead arm” it was.

Zito’s fastball topped out at 82 mph on Saturday night in Arizona. Then he strained a ligament in the middle of his foot. The Giants rushed him to the disabled list, replacing him with veteran minor leaguer Ryan Vogelsong early Sunday morning.

Zito could well have suffered the first career-ending ligament strain in the history of Major League Baseball. 

The Giants have an opportunity now to put Vogelsong in the fifth spot in the rotation, keep Zito on the sidelines and do so without answering questions about the $127 million contract or their plan for Zito.

Zito can’t be a big-league relief pitcher and the Giants know that.

Neither the Giants nor Zito would be served by sending him to the minor leagues. 

Now, Zito has given the organization an out—a way to see if Vogelsong can be a low-cost answer in the No. 5 spot in the rotation.

Zito set the bar pretty low and Vogelsong was brilliant in spring training, as well as in his initial starts with Fresno in the Pacific Coast League.

If Vogelsong pitches well in Zito’s absence, the concern ceases to be Zito’s struggles; the concern, rather, will be figuring out a way to keep Vogelsong on the big-league roster and in the rotation.

See how it works?

The Giants can figure out what to do with Zito and spin it as the organization doing him a favor by trading him to a team that’ll pay a portion of his salary and is looking for an innings-eater. They can spin unloading Zito as making room for the feel-good story that Vogelsong is on the verge of becoming.

Zito’s a good dude, no question. He has never drawn much criticism in this spot. The reality is that he and the Giants need to part ways. Whether that happens soon is, largely, in the hands of Ryan Vogelsong and doctors who will struggle to deal with Zito’s pesky injury.

Don’t be surprised if the strained ligament in Zito’s foot ends his career, at least in San Francisco. 

Ted Sillanpaa can be reached at tsillanpaa1956@gmail.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Giants have placed Zito on the DL (15-day variety) for the first time in his career with an extremely vague and mysterious “mid-foot sprain.” Which is a term that somehow manages to sound even more awkward than it looked when it happened.

I shudder to think how badly Zito would have hurt himself were he not protected by the generous cushion of his mustache, which surely prevented greater injury through its Phiten titanium necklace-like effects on Zito’s balance and coordination.

Too bad it couldn’t help his velocity.

Zito injured his foot attempting to field a Joe Saunders bunt in the second inning Saturday against the Diamondbacks. It’s good to know that Saunders’ ownage of the Giants extends further than lazy sliders on the outside corner.

In a way, it is fortunate that Zito will miss a start or two. This injury is really just a much more brief (though arguably less painful) path out of the starting rotation than the one he was already on. But the timing of the injury, and the Giants reaction to it, reveals one of the team’s greatest weaknesses: the back end of the rotation.

Even before the injury, Zito was playing like a wounded man. Jon Miller reported that Zito’s fastball was cruising at a leisurely 82 MPH in the first inning of last night’s game. In a related story, he was also 0-2 with a gaudy 6.23 ERA in three starts this season.

At least now the Giants can finally start reaping the benefits of the one who got away (then went overseas, then was out of baseball)—a former top prospect who was regrettably traded for some guy named Schmidt who was never heard from again.

Returning to San Francisco like the prodigal son of subpar outings is Ryan Vogelsong, who comes back to the Giants from Pittburgh by way of Hyogo, Japan and Anaheim, California. Nothing will be expected of him, aside from not subjecting fans to Guillermo-Mota-as-de-facto-fifth-starter syndrome. Vogelsong’s last full season in the majors was 2004, a season in which he posted a 6.50 ERA, a 1.617 WHIP and went 6-13 in 31 games.

Looking at those numbers, it seems possible that the Giants won’t lose anything in the switch from Zito to Vogelsong.

Realistically, Zito’s starts are always expected to be short and, more often than not, bitter. The orange and black shoes waiting to be filled by Vogelsong are very small in this regard.

The real effect of Zito’s injury—as well as the ineffectiveness of San Francisco’s fourth and fifth starters in 2011—will be measured by the bullpen.

San Francisco’s relievers have been spectacular this season. Last night’s 7.1 IP, 1 ER effort by Mota, Jeremy Affeldt, Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson was reminiscent of team’s run through the postseason in 2010.

But to expect this group to long-relief-by-committee their way through every fifth start this season is unrealistic. And with Madison Bumgarner exhibiting many of the growing pains he somehow managed to avoid last year, there is more pressure than ever on the Giants bullpen.

If Vogelsong can barely keep his head above water, and perform even slightly better than the minimum level of production required for MLB rosterization (AKA Oliver Perez-ing it), he would give the Giants pitching staff a huge boost. If he cannot, well, we’re pretty much back to where we were with Zito.

While things could certainly be worse, this is still not a great place to be.

On the bright side, the Panda is back, baby! And back with a vengeance!

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When the San Francisco Giants called up Matt Cain in August of 2005, he made his debut as the second youngest pitcher in the major leagues.  Now in his seventh season as a big leaguer, Cain is a seasoned veteran with a laundry list of accomplishments to his credit.  He finished last year’s World Championship season with a 13-11 record with a 3.14 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 177 strikeouts, 61 walks, 223 innings pitched and four complete games (including two shutouts).  

In May alone, he pitched into the sixth inning or later in each of his six starts while giving up nine earned runs on 23 hits with 35 strike outs and 18 walks with an 1.81 ERA.  He was instrumental in the Giants’ regular season success last year and even more so in their postseason World Series run.  Despite his track record of success, he is rarely included in the list of current upper echelon pitchers, and there are five main reasons why. 

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                                   2011 SF Giants Season Preview

It is a good time to be a San Francisco Giants fan. Great even. The Gigantes are fresh off an improbable World Series championship, the farm system is a veritable horn-o-plenty in comparison to recent  history, and leading the way is arguably the best starting rotation in baseball—that’s right Philadelphia, I went there.

But with the start of a new season, anything is possible, and new questions are raised. Will the Giants training staff find a way to resurrect the corpse of Aaron Rowand? Will Barry Zito be a serviceable fifth starter, or will he be released by the Giants and banished to a baseball purgatory like Baltimore or Kansas City to finish out his career? Is Buster Posey in fact the baseball Messiah?

The (possible) answers to these questions, and more are less than an inch away!

Part 1: The Pitching, Oh God, The Pitching!

Any 2011 preview of the Giants has to begin with pitching. It was pitching that ran roughshod over baseball’s best and captured the Giants first World Series in over 50 years. I argue that this pitching staff would have dominated absolutely any team from any era last year. That’s how good they were during the 2010 Playoffs.

Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum are so awesome they don’t even need to be previewed. They are so awesome that, as I was typing this, Lincecum just ruined some Minor Leaguer’s shot at the bigs with a ridiculous changeup, and Cain threw eight scoreless innings with zero media attention. Barring injury, two more excellent seasons can be expected from the top of the Giants’ rotation.

On most other teams, Timmy and Cain would be seen as what they are—two young guns entering their primes. On the Giants, they are the wise old sages tasked with leading the way for the really young guns, like 2010 MLB Playoff insta-hero Madison Bumgarner.

Of all the players on the 2011 roster, Bumgarner is one of the most interesting to me. He burst through last year with dominating performances on baseball’s biggest stages, against the games’ best. He clearly possesses the testicular fortitude to succeed, and dominate as a starter.

But Giants’ fans know that at this time last year there were reports of decreased velocity and increased hittability from the young MadBum, and for a little while there was something of a Chicken Little scenario brewing within the fan base.

While Bumgarner did his best to put these concerns to bed in last years playoffs, keep in mind that he still has not pitched a full Major League season, and spent most of last season stashed in the minors, enjoying the glorious benefits of extra days off (not to mention bus rides to and from Fresno). Realistically, he is still a very young pitcher who needs to learn how to pitch in the majors, and work through the growing pains of a young starter. However, I don’t think a 14-15 win, 3.50 ERA would disappoint anyone, nor do I think it’s unrealistic.

Bruce Bochy and Dave Righetti have proven their abilities to manage a young roster extremely well, and part of me secretly believes there’s a chance that Bumgarner goes Lincecum all over everyone’s A’s and continues to dominate to the tune of 16-17 wins, with an ERA somewhere between his 2010 regular season 3.00 and his otherworldly 2010 postseason 2.18.

Part of the reason I am less concerned than others about his inconsistent velocity throughout his career is that, despite his top-of-the-rotation stuff, his K rate has never been in the Lincecum-circa-2009 range anyways. He may only strike out roughly 6-8 batters per 9 IP, but he pitches to contact with movement that keeps the ball in the park. Most young pitchers arrive in the Majors relying on velocity to get them through their first year or two. Bumgarner relies on movement and control, which makes him a likely candidate to pitch in the bigs for many years to come.

One of the most impressive MadBum stats is his stellar walk rate. In his first Major League season (2009), he walked only 2.7 batters per 9 IP, and lowered that 2.15 last season including the playoffs. Even factoring in a learning curve, Bumgarner clearly has the stuff and the approach to be a successful third or fourth starter at worst, and an ace at best.

My official projection for the 2011 version of Madison Bumgarner looks something like 16 wins, 6.5 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, with a 3.25 ERA, while maintaining his always impressive WHIP at about 1.200. This factors in some growing pains, but also the flashes of blinding brilliance we have seen from the young lad in the very recent past.

Speaking of pitching to contact, we arrive at everyone’s favorite punching bag, Barry William Zito. These last few years have been tough for Barry and I. I was intrigued by him as he junkballed his was to a Cy Young Award in Oakland. I was mostly mortified when the Giants outbid themselves by $30 million for him, and overpaid him by roughly $90 million, but was secretly happy that he was on the light side of the Bay, and was optimistic about how that knee-buckling curve would play in the pitcher-friendly confines of AT&T Park.

Then reality hit. Zito has been incredibly, unbelievably hittable, and rumors have floated out of Spring Training this year that, after not making last year’s playoff roster, Zito would be cut from the team, and paid his money to walk away. To which I say….RIDICULOUS! Listen, even I, the biggest Zito apologist outside of his immediate family, has found it hard to defend him recently—but I’m going to try anyway. Here are the salient points on the Zito Defense:

1. The Giants have no other options for a fifth starter. Here’s an update I just received: Jeff Suppan is not good. He is not better than Barry Zito, neither is Dontrelle Willis. So unless a legitimate offer comes along for an affordable, durable, 200 inning-throwing, preferably hippie-minded starter, Barry is the best option the team has. By far. I know the anti-Zito haze is hard to see through sometimes, but when Jeff Suppan is standing on the other side of that haze, you’re better off sticking with Barry. 

2. The Giants are paying him. I don’t understand ever paying a player to play for another organization. It absolutely never works out well. Unless some team is willing to step up and pay Zito’s salary (stop salivating, Giants fans), there is absolutely no point to not rostering him. 

3. He fits in. Let’s face it, the Giants are a team filled with allegedly pot-smoking dirty hippies, and goofballs. And Barry Zito fits right in. He plays guitar, keeps it mellow, doesn’t rock the boat, and is a good teammate. Lincecum likes him. Cain likes him. Posey and Sandoval like him. Therefore I like him.

A statistical projection for Zito seems not only futile, but potentially disappointing. We have all seen both the best and worst of Zito, and most of us know what to realistically expect. However, with lowered expectations comes lowered responsibility.

There has been talk of making Jonathan Sanchez the No. 2 starter, in order to break up the lefties and righties, as well as the pitchers who are capable of consistently pitching late into games (Lincecum and Cain), from those who struggle in that area (Sanchez, Zito, and the youngster Bumgarner, who will not be expected to reach the innings totals of his starter brethren).

A rotation of Lincecum, Sanchez, and Cain, followed by Bumgarner and Zito, puts Barry in the fourth slot at best, and the fifth at worst.

Do I think this demotion will result in a return to Cy Young form? Obviously not. But matching up with Jon Garland and Wade Leblanc is surely more advantageous than, say, Clayton Kershaw and Mat Latos. Just saying. 

A potential answer to Zito’s expected inconsistency could be Jonathan Sanchez, AKA the mystery wrapped in a riddle bundled up in an enigma. I think if I had one wish for the Giants organization, it would be for consistency from Sanchez, because when he’s on, he’s as good as anyone in the league including his battery mates. But when he’s off, he’s a frustrating, frustrating man to watch. He sprays crisp 94 MPH fastballs all over the place. He twists off incredible sliders that would break hitters down if it weren’t a foot off the plate. His arm action frustrates hitters to the point that, were they to swing at the fastball whizzing a foot over their heads, their timing would definitely be off.

With the need to give Bumgarner some extra rest days as often as possible, a good season from Sanchez would be a key shot in the arm for this team. And there’s reason to be hopeful. In 2010 not only did Sanchez lower his ERA to 3.07, he maintained his stellar K rate, at over 9 per game. He also seemed to be more able to work through a difficult or stressful inning. He still gave up the occasional big hit(s), but his composure on the mound just seemed to be headed in the right direction.

I’m optimistic about Sanchez in 2011. I have faith that he will put it all (or at least some of it) together enough to finally have the season we’ve all been waiting for. For me, a projection of about 175-180 IP, 3.15 ERA, 9.5-10 K/9 and, good God let’s hope for, a sub 4 BB/9 ratio, seems about right. Although I have felt this way in the past, and have been proven wrong before on this topic, and let’s be honest, a 4.00 ERA with 4.8 K/9 wouldn’t surprise anyone. 

While the starting rotation is clearly the strength of this ball club, the bullpen remains somewhat of a mystery to me. While they can be fully expected to lead the league in ridiculous haircuts and outlandish facial hair, this is not a group for whom consistency is a strength.

I, like all Giants fans, have been tantalized and disappointed by Sergio Romo and Jeremy Affeldt more times than I can count. When I watch Romo pitch, I see sliders that should be unhittable, starting in the strike zone and breaking three feet off the plate, leaving batters looking foolish and confused. In nearly every game that Romo appears in, he has at least one moment that makes you stop and think “this guy has incredible stuff. He should be one of the best relievers in the league”. Problem is, these thoughts are often followed by a slider that hangs over the plate and is promptly deposited in the outfield bleachers by subpar NL West utility players.

Affeldt presents a similar quandary: is he the guy with the Zito-esque curve and the 96 MPH fastball, or is he the guy who struggles with his control, and gets knocked around by patient-yet-below-average hitters, like the David Eckstein’s of the world?

For me, Romo and Affeldt are the key to the success of the bullpen. Brian Wilson will undoubtedly be Brian Wilson—that is to say he will throw 98 MPH gas, walk one or two hitters too many, and generally give Giants fans a collective heart attack on his way to racking up his 40+ saves.

Javier Lopez, I’m assuming, will continue to own left handed hitters like Cody Ross owns Roy Halladay. And guys like Santiago Casilla and “Razor” Ramon Ramirez will prove serviceable enough to eat up some innings and spell the studs.

But Affeldt and Romo are the key.

With a little consistency, the Giants will have arguably the NL’s best bullpen again. But bullpen’s are fickle mistresses. Elite closers turn into overpaid specialists seemingly overnight, and one injury can decimate a relief crew (just look at former-Giant Joe Nathan’s Twins last season). Healthy and productive years from Affeldt and Romo would give San Francisco the depth to withstand an injury or two (just plug in a Dan Runzler here and an Alex Hinshaw there), but anything less than that could present real problems. Runzler and Hinshaw are great as innings-eaters/injury replacements, but asking them to step up and play major roles is a lot to ask, and I am dubious as to whether they are up to the task.

All that said, the Brian Sabean, Bruce Bochy, and Dave Righetti seem to have a knack for piecing together excellent relief crews. They did pick up Javier “sit DOWN, Ryan Howard” Lopez and Ramon Ramirez for nothing last season, and despite their penchant for high-wire acts, both Romo and Wilson have developed nicely overall, with Wilson emerging as an elite closer and the only modern-day pirate (swashbuckling variety, not Pittsburgh variety) to achieve MLB fame and fortune.

Well that does it for Part 1, hopefully you didn’t’ hate my initial foray into sports blogging, and hopefully you will stay tuned for Part 2: The Offense

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

With Spring Training now in full swing, the San Francisco Giants have unofficially began their journey to repeat as World Series Champions.

After their improbable run to become baseball’s 2010 World Champions, it is hard to say whether this team has yet to come down from that high.

A pretty mediocre and quiet offseason from the Giants’ front office has this team against the odds once again.

That is, until you look at their pitching staff, when you quickly remember why this team won it all last season.

Still, there are question marks aplenty for this team.

Can they repeat? Will Brian Wilson’s beard rule the world? Who is “The Machine?”

Here are my five biggest question marks for the San Francisco Giants heading into the 2011 MLB season

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Bruce Jenkins’s column in the San Francisco Chronicle this past week sent waves throughout the San Francisco Giants community.

Jenkins’ report? Barry Zito may be released.

So now, an offseason where the team had no distractions and could focus on repeating has turned into a game of, “What If?”

The report, bogus in itself, was that the Giants were frustrated with Zito because they only made the playoffs by one game, and it wouldn’t have been that close if Zito had given them a just a few better outings.

Huh?

Jenkins is credible and very respected in the industry, but this isn’t supposed to be serious, right?

That’s baseball, Bruce.

I don’t doubt the Giants are frustrated with Zito—$126 million and barely any production? Plus, he was left off the playoff roster. Yeah, they should be disappointed. He’s not quite the investment they were hoping for.

On top of that, he has shown up to spring training out of shape—and apparently he’s had close to no offseason conditioning. Oh, and he botched his spring debut. That may have fueled this fire.

But are the Giants going to release Zito? No, no , no. From a financial stand-point, why would they?

Zito’s $126 million/seven years still has $57.5 million and three years left on it. You think the Giants are going to eat that? Doubt it. Not even if Zito starts the season 0-10 are they going to eat that. Although, don’t quote me on that.

The hefty $126 million contract aside, from a production stand-point, will the Giants release him? Never.

Zito is one of the best fifth starters in the MLB. Although he gets paid No. 1 starter money, his 4.09 ERA over the last couple seasons is nothing to be released over.

Take him for what he’s worth. He is a decent starter who happens to make a ridiculous sum of money that he doesn’t deserve.

But he isn’t going anywhere. Bruce Bochy came out and said Zito is the team’s fourth starter, no questions.

Actually I have one. No. 4? Really?

You’re telling me Zito is the fourth best pitcher on this team? Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner are worse than Zito? Check yourself Boch.

So Zito is their guy through thick and thin. Not because the Giants want him to be their guy, but because he has to be their guy. $65 million through 2013 will remind them of that.

This isn’t to say Zito’s spot in the rotation will be safe the whole season. He’s going to have to earn it whether the team acknowledges it or not.

The leash will be short.

The No. 5 spot in that rotation is fully functional because the Giants have four pitchers who are horses and they can easily get away with a four-man rotation if they want to get crazy.

Remember, the Giants do have a farm system, and a decent one at that. They did sign Jeff Suppan in the offseason, and Clayton Tanner from AA may be making some strides and will one day pitch in San Francisco. So Zito’s spot isn’t fully secure. They’ll make him work for it.

It should be that way. Zito coming to spring training out of shape is no way to get respect back. It only fuels the fire more.

I don’t doubt Zito and the Giants organization are on the same page from a public relations standpoint, but you have to believe that Zito’s act is getting old.

Who knows how long the Giants will let him go before they finally snap?

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Barry Zito, who has struggled in a San Francisco Giants’ uniform, still has three years and $57 million left on his contract. There is a good chance that Zito will be boughtout by the Giants, who already have a deep array of starting pitchers

Since the offseason before the 1999 season, when Mike Piazza and Kevin Brown signed by far the two biggest contracts ever at that time, there have been many gigantic contracts, almost none of which worked as a whole.

In the case of many of these large contracts, it is almost as if players are earning money for what they have done in the past, as opposed to what they will bring to the table in the future.

It is unclear whether this tends to happen because players try harder the year before becoming free agents, or if it is simply a result of age and statistical odds catching up to you.

Here are the 10 worst MLB contracts of all-time.

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When the Texas Rangers ponied up and offered free agent Adrian Beltre a six-year, $96 million contract, incumbent third baseman Michael Young, the Rangers all-time leader in hits and several other offensive categories, indicated that he was okay with moving to the role of full-time designated hitter.

Then, the Rangers acquired Mike Napoli from the Toronto Blue Jays, and shortly thereafter, all hell broke loose.

Two weeks prior to the start of spring training, the Texas Rangers went public in saying that Michael Young had demanded to be traded, with general manager Jon Daniels saying that Young had a “change of heart” regarding his role as designated hitter and utility infielder.

One day later, Young ripped the Rangers, telling Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports:

“The suggestion that I had a change of heart and asked for a trade is a manipulation of the truth. I asked for a trade because I’ve been misled and manipulated and I’m sick of it. Other than that, I’m not going to reveal any details about how this process unfolded. It’s not my nature to start blasting people publicly when I don’t think it’s necessary… But at the end of the day, I know the truth. And so does JD.”

While the Rangers said that they would honor Young’s request for a trade, there have been no significant discussions with any teams, and now, with the calf injury to Beltre early in spring training, the Rangers will certainly be in no hurry to accommodate Young’s request.

While Michael Young has been a consummate professional throughout his career with the Rangers, the current situation is still a distraction, regardless of what Young or anyone else on the Rangers says publicly.

The Rangers can still salvage the situation and try to trade Young, but there are only eight teams on Young’s contract that he has agreed to be traded to: the Yankees, Twins, Astros, Cardinals, Padres, Dodgers, Rockies and Angels. Young has also indicated that he would we willing to waive his no-trade clause to other teams “on a case by case basis.”

So, with that in mind, here are ten ideas that the Texas Rangers can use in order to save face and get value for Michael Young in return.

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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.

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