Giants: Remembering the 2013-14 MLB offseason transactions

With the 2019-20 MLB offseason right around the corner, let’s take a look back at how the San Francisco Giants fared in recent offseasons. Next up, the 2013-14 offseason.

What moves await the San Francisco Giants this offseason as they continue on with efforts to retool the roster in the vision of team president Farhan Zaidi?

Before free agency begins and the hot stove season kicks into full swing, we’re taking a look back at what the Giants did during the past decade worth of offseasons.

We’ve already looked back on the 2009-10 offseason, 2010-11 offseason, 2011-12 offseason and 2012-13 offseason, so we’re up to the winter leading up to the club’s third World Series title.

The Giants suffered through a disappointing 76-86 season in 2013 to finish a distant third in the NL West, as the offseason moves to keep the core intact were not even enough to return to the postseason.

However, the door had not slammed shut just yet.

Here’s a closer look at all of the notable moves the team made that winter:

Notable Free Agency Departures

• RP Chad Gaudin
• OF Andres Torres
• SP Barry Zito

Once again, the 2013-14 offseason saw the Giants front office taking care of its own, with Javier Lopez and Ryan Vogelsong both signed to new deals.

The notable departure here is Barry Zito, who wrapped up a then-record seven-year, $126 million deal when he had his $18 million club option bought out for $7 million. Over the life of that contract, Zito posted a 4.62 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 1,139.1 innings of work.

Chad Gaudin (Phillies) and Andres Torres (Red Sox) both signed minor league deals, but the 2013 season in San Francisco wound up being their last action at the MLB level.

Notable Free Agency Additions

• SP Tim Hudson (2 years, $23 million)
• RP Javier Lopez (3 years, $13 million)—re-signed
• OF Michael Morse (1 year, $6 million)
• SP Ryan Vogelsong (1 year, $5 million)—re-signed
• OF Tyler Colvin (MiLB deal)
• IF Brandon Hicks (MiLB deal)

With money to spend and an open spot in the rotation following Zito’s departure, the Giants signed a 38-year-old Tim Hudson to a two-year deal after he posted a 3.97 ERA in 21 starts with the Atlanta Braves in 2013.

It proved to be money well spent.

In fact, Hudson (189.1 IP, 3.57 ERA) and Vogelsong (184.2 IP, 4.00 ERA) both filled key roles on the starting staff while earning a combined $16 million.

Lefty specialist Javier Lopez kept rolling over the life of his three-year contract, posting a 2.78 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 210 appearances during the regular season. He also recorded nine scoreless appearances during the 2014 postseason.

Slugger Michael Morse had a 130 OPS+ with 32 doubles and 16 home runs in 482 plate appearances in 2014, and he hit a big home run in Game 5 of the NLCS.

Tyler Colvin (149 PA, 84 OPS+) and Brandon Hicks (242 PA, 72 OPS+) both filled bench roles.

Notable Trades

• None

There were no notable trades made during the 2013-14 offseason, though the team did swing a deal to acquire veteran starter Jake Peavy at the trade deadline.

After a losing season in 2013, the San Francisco Giants rebounded in 2014 to snag a wild-card spot with an 88-74 record. From there, they knocked off the Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals before besting the Kansas City Royals in a thrilling seven-game World Series.