SAN FRANCISCO: Right-handed reliever Santiago Casilla and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a $15 million, three-year contract.
The deal, which is pending a physical, includes a club/vesting option for the 2016 season. The Giants said on Monday that Casilla is scheduled to take his physical Tuesday.
The World Series champions have done their best this winter to keep the 2012 roster intact, re-signing center fielder Angel Pagan, second baseman Marco Scutaro and lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt to multiyear contracts.
Casilla went 7-6 with a 2.84 ERA and 25 saves in 73 appearances covering 63 1-3 innings last season.
He initially took over the closer role after 2010 major league saves leader Brian Wilson was sidelined in April with an elbow injury that required his second Tommy John surgery.
The 32-year-old Casilla was eligible for arbitration this winter and could have become a free agent next offseason.
Mets deal reigning Cy Young winner Dickey
The New York Mets traded R.A. Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday, just one month after the knuckleballer won Major League Baseball’s Cy Young Award as the top pitcher in the National League.
Dickey, who published an autobiography in March, was unable to come to terms on a new contract with the Mets.
After signing with the Blue Jays, he thanked his fans for their support.
“Now that it’s official, I want to say that I don’t have the words to express how grateful I am to you for the steadfast support and encouragement I received from all of you,” Dickey wrote in a message to fans on Twitter.
“I’ve always felt that there was a connection beyond the uniform. Thank you for making me feel wanted.”
The 38-year-old Dickey had a career year in 2012, winning the Cy Young after posting a record of 20-6 with a 2.73 earned run average and 230 strikeouts. Dickey had not won more than 11 games in a season previously in his nine-year MLB career.
In the seven-player trade, the Blue Jays received Dickey, catcher Josh Thole and minor league catcher Mike Nickeas.
The Mets acquired catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud, right-hand pitcher Noah Syndergaard, catcher John Buck and Wuilmer Becerra, who plays in the minor leagues.
Dickey agreed to a three-year contract deal with Toronto worth $29 million, according to MLB.com. The deal also includes a $12 million option for 2016.
Dickey is the first pitcher to be traded following a Cy Young award-winning season since Roger Clemens in 1999.
He was the Mets’ first 20-game winner since Frank Viola in 1990 and also became the first pitcher in MLB history to throw one-hit complete games with 10 or more strikeouts in two consecutive starts. He accomplished the feat over five days in mid-June.
A’s agree to sign shortstop Nakajima
Meantime, two people with knowledge of the negotiations say the Oakland Athletics have agreed to sign shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima of Japan’s Seibu Lions.
The people spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because there had yet to be a formal announcement. The AL West champion A’s called a news conference for Tuesday afternoon described as a “major announcement.”
Nakajima agreed to a $6.5 million, two-year contract. The deal also includes a $5.5 million option for a third season, one of the people said.
Nakajima, a seven-time Pacific League All-Star, has a .302 batting average with 149 home runs, 664 RBIs and 134 stolen bases over 11 seasons with Seibu.
He would fill a big void for Oakland, which traded away shortstop and second baseman Cliff Pennington to Arizona in an Oct. 21 trade that brought outfielder Chris Young to the A’s.
The club also appears to have lost out on shortstop Stephen Drew, who was acquired in an August trade with Arizona. He batted .250 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 39 regular-season games with Oakland.
General manager Billy Beane’s big priority has been to find a shortstop.
