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The San Francisco Giants have re-signed left-handed reliever Javier Lopez to a three-year, $13 million contract, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com. The deal is pending a physical, which will be completed next week.
After locking up pending free agents Hunter Pence and Tim Lincecum before they hit the open market, the Giants expressed that they were very interested in bringing Lopez back as well. According to CSNBayArea.com's Andrew Baggarly, the left-hander also has drawn serious interest from the Yankees and Nationals, but is almost certain to return to San Francisco, where he has spent the last three and a half seasons.
With Pence, Lincecum, Lopez and free agent Tim Hudson locked up to multi-year deals this offseason, the Giants have already committed $161 million for twelve combined seasons of service from those players. The team also maintains interest in adding another starter, with Ricky Nolasco, Bronson Arroyo and Dan Haren as possibilities.
In 69 appearances with the Giants in 2013, the 36-year old Lopez was dominant, pitching to a 1.83 ERA in 39.1 innings of work. For his eleven-year major league career with theRockies (2003-2005), Red Sox (2006-2009), Pirates (2010) and Giants (2010-2013), Lopez is the owner of a career 27-13 record and 3.64 ERA in 629 appearances.
With Lopez seemingly off the board, teams looking for left-handed relief help will have to turn elsewhere. Available southpaws include Mike Gonzalez, J.P. Howell, Boone Logan,Manny Parra, Oliver Perez and Matt Thornton.
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