© Orlando Ramirez | 2018 Sep 17
The Giants have avoided arbitration for projected closer Will Smith and signed him to a one-year, $4.2 million deal, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Reliever Will Smith earns $4.225 million from #SFGiants
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 11, 2019
Smith, 29, is coming off a stellar season for the Giants, posting a 2.55 ERA and 0.98 WHIP after making his return from Tommy John surgery in March of 2017. The left-hander proved to be the club’s best option at closer after Hunter Strickland punched a door and was lost for the season. Smith finished the season with 14 saves.
Smith is slated to become a free agent next offseason, and has been the subject of trade rumors since new VP of Baseball Ops Farhan Zaidi took over in November. Most recently, both Smith and fellow left-handed reliever Tony Watson have been liked with a move to the Los Angeles Angels.
The Giants now have no remaining arbitration eligible players on their roster after also signing Joe Panik and Sam Dyson to one-year deals. The organization has not gone to a hearing since 2004, when A.J. Pierzynski was the target, according to Alex Pavlovic.