In an offseason that has seen the National League West become a chess match of free agent acquisitions, the latest move belongs the to the San Francisco Giants. Earlier today, Jon Heyman of MLB Network broke the news that the Giants had to agreed to a three-year deal with free agent outfielder Denard Span. The deal is pending a physical and reportedly worth a guaranteed $31 million, with $5 million.
.@SFGiants, OF Denard Span agree to 3-year contract, pending physical. #HotStove pic.twitter.com/UOY5pLr6ox
— MLBRosterMoves (@MLBRosterMoves) January 7, 2016
San Francisco Giants Agree to Terms with Denard Span
Denard Span, who will be entering his age 31 season in 2016, had a productive 2015 with a slash-line of .301/.365/.431 which was unfortunately cut short to only 61 games due to injury. After undergoing surgery on the rectus abdominis muscle last March, Span was forced to miss the beginning of the 2015 season. Back spasms sidelined him for more than a month in July, not to mention season ending surgery in September to repair a torn labrum.
Questions concerning his health had scared off most potential suitors, prompting Span’s agent, Scott Boras, to conduct a private health and conditioning workout for interested teams. The 31-year-old will bolster one of the weaker outfield cores in the league, not to mention cover the expansive centerfield of AT&T park. Span joins Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija as high profile acquisitions of the Giants this offseason, totaling a massive $251 million in guaranteed money spent. Other potential suitors had included the Washington Nationals, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, and Baltimore Orioles.
Main Photo
Main Photo Credit: Denard Span #2 of the Washington Nationals leads off the first inning with a single during a baseball game against the San Diego Padres at Nationals Park on August 26, 2015 in Washington, DC.
August 26, 2015| Credit: Mitchell Layton Getty Images
