Giants sign pitcher, expect to continue adding to roster
SAN FRANCISCO – Derek Holland wanted to return to the Giants. He just had to wait a little longer than he anticipated.
Holland, 32, agreed to a one-year deal with a club option for the 2020 season to rejoin the Giants, the team announced Monday.
The Giants will pay Holland a base salary of $6.5 million in 2019 with a $6.5 million club option or $500,000 buyout for the 2020 season, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. San Francisco has also added incentives to Holland’s contract based on the number of starts he makes next year.
“It was just an easy decision to come back,” Holland said on a conference call Monday. “These guys helped me, basically I looked at it as resurrecting my career.”
After struggling through one of the worst seasons of his career in 2017 with the White Sox, Holland signed a minor league deal with San Francisco last offseason and won a roster spot during spring training. The veteran left-hander wound up leading the Giants in innings and posted a 3.57 ERA while emerging as the most consistent member of the team’s rotation.
Though Holland battled injuries and command issues during the prime seasons of his career, a partnership with Giants pitching coach Curt Young helped Holland get his career back on track in San Francisco. Young helped move Holland from the third base side of the rubber to the first base side, a transition that helped Holland become more effec-
he comes here to San Francisco, he’s going to do everything possible to help this team to win.”
Any trade is likely to command a high draft pick or two, and even though the 49ers hold the No. 2 overall choice, that is a lot of equity, so a more likely deal would include perhaps their second-round pick (No. 36 overall) and other selections.
Trade talks are expected to commence at next month’s scouting combine in Indianapolis, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reported Sunday, adding that likely suitors are the 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, and Philadelphia Eagles.
Brown, 30, led the NFL with 15 touchdown receptions this season, despite getting benched for the regular-season finale after skipping out on practice that week. He’s totaled over 100 receptions each of the past six seasons, and he has over 1,000 yards in 7-of-9 seasons.
“He’s just coming into his own,” Rice said. “I remember when I was in my early 30s, I felt like a rookie all over again. You’ve got great years coming from this guy. It’s just up to the Niners if they want to go for it. If it were left up to me, he’d be here in a heartbeat.”
Last week, Steelers president Art Rooney II told the Pittsburgh Post-gazette it’s “hard to envision” Brown returning to the team and that all options are under consideration other than an