The Giants have signed 29-year old righty reliever Santiago Casilla to a minor league deal. Casilla pitched in 46 games (0 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 1-2 with a 5.96 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. He has now pitched in 152 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 6-4 with 4 saves, a 5.11 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. I really like this signing for the Giants as Casilla has a live arm and he could help them out in the pen in 2010.

The Giants have re-signed 35-year old righty swinging catcher Bengie Molina to a 1-year, $4.5 million dollar contract. He played in 132 games for the Giants last season and he was 130 for 491 (.265 avg, .727 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 20 homers and 80 RBIs. Molina has now played in 411 games in his three years with the Giants and he is 422 for 1,518 (.278 avg, .742 OPS) with 136 runs scored, 55 homers and 256 RBIs. I really like this signing as Molina will give the Giants another solid bat while giving Buster Posey another year in the minors to sharpen up his game for 2011 and beyond.

The Giants have designated 28-year old righty reliever Merkin Valdez for assignment to make room on the roster for Aubrey Huff. Valdez pitched in 48 games (0 starts) last season for the Giants and he was 3-1 with a 5.66 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP. He has pitched in 67 games (1 start) in his career with the Giants and he is 3-1 with a 5.24 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. Valdez has a strong right arm but he just hasn’t improved as a pitcher so I don’t see the Giants missing him much.

UPDATE: The Giants have traded Merkin Valdez to the Blue Jays for cash considerations. At least the Giants were smart enough to trade him out of the National League just in case he does turn his career around.

Barry Bonds played 15 years for the Giants in which he made the All-Star team 12 times, he won 5 Gold Gloves and he was the N.L. MVP five times for them. Bonds played in 1,976 games for the Giants in which he was 1,951 for 6,263 (.312 avg, 1.143 OPS) with 1,555 runs scored, 586 homers, 1,440 RBIs and 263 stolen bases. Bonds is #5 all-time in hits for the Giants, he’s #1 in OPS, #3 in runs scored, #2 in homers, #3 in RBIs and he is tied for #9th in Giants history in stolen bases with his father Bobby Bonds. Bonds won the MVP in his first season with the Giants in 1993 when he played in 159 games in which he was 181 for 539 (.336 avg, 1.136 OPS) with 129 runs scored, 46 homers, 123 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. He led the league in both homers and RBIs in 1993. Bonds also won four straight MVPs during the 2001-2004 seasons in which he played in 573 games in which he was 573 for 1,642 (.349 avg) with 486 runs scored, 209 homers, 438 RBIs, 35 stolen bases and 755 walks. In 2001, Bonds set the all-time record for homers (73) in a season. He is the all-time leader in major league history with 762 homers and he also is the all-time leader in walks with 2,558.

The Giants have signed 30-year old righty reliever Kevin Cameron to a minor league deal. Cameron pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 3.44 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He has now pitched in 69 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 2-0 with 1 save, a 3.02 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. If Cameron can just tighten up his control a bit he can help the team in 2010.