With the 2011 MLB Winter Meetings finishing up in Dallas, Texas, the San Francisco Giants re-signed an important player of the team’s bullpen at a very affordable price. As reported by Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, relief pitcher Guillermo Mota has re-signed with the Giants for a one-year, $1 million contract.

San Francisco Giants RP Guillermo Mota
Wikimedia Commons

Mota, a 13-year major league veteran, has been a member of the Giants for the past two seasons. In two years with the team, Mota has put up very respectable numbers as the team’s primary long-reliever. Last season, Mota had a 2-2 record, 3.81 ERA, and 77 strikeouts in 52 games.

Although Mota typically entered the game when a starter left the game early or when the score was already out of hand, he played a crucial role in the Giants’ bullpen. While guys like Brian Wilson, Sergio Romo, Jeremy Affeldt, Santiago Casilla, and Javier Lopez handled the more pressure-packed situations during the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings in close games, Mota was the reliable arm in the bullpen that was responsible for multiple-inning appearances and gave some of the more valuable pitchers in the bullpen rest when needed. In Mota’s 52 appearances last season, he pitched two or more innings in 18 of those games.

The Giants are very fortunate to re-sign Mota at this price. Over the past two seasons, Mota has signed a minor league contract with the club, later making it on the team out of spring training. Seeking a major league contract this season, the 38-year-old certainly deserves it after his contributions with the Giants. This most recent contract with the Giants will keep Mota with the team he has had the most success with since his days serving as a setup man in his first stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2002-2004.

For the Giants, retaining Mota is a small but very helpful move for the cost-conscious ballclub. With so much money already devoted to players on the roster, this move adds an affordable piece to a Giants bullpen that general manager Brian Sabean has already put so much money in. Currently the oldest and most-experienced player on the Giants roster, Mota is one veteran player that the team doesn’t mind re-signing at this low cost.

Sources:

Giants re-sign Guillermo Mota to one-year, $1 million deal, HardballTalk, NBC Sports

Guillermo Mota Profile, Yahoo! Sports

Guillermo Mota Game Log, Yahoo! Sports

Guillermo Mota Career Stats, Yahoo! Sports

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Austin Chang is a lifelong San Francisco Bay Area native, baseball fan, and supporter of the San Francisco Giants. Follow him on Twitter @_austinchang.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—Brian Sabean’s office is connected to the San Francisco
Giants’ clubhouse, only a matter of feet from where manager Bruce Bochy prepares
for games. The close proximity makes for regular planning meetings, before first
pitch and often well into the night after the final out.

CEO Larry Baer is committed to maintaining that continuity with his club,
and took a step Tuesday by giving both the general manager and manager contract
extensions taking them through the 2013 season with club options for 2014.

“They work exceptionally well together. That’s a key relationship,” Baer
said. “I strongly believe Brian and Bruce are the best at their craft in the
game, and their track record shows that.”

The 55-year-old Sabean is the longest-tenured GM in baseball and has said he
would like to stay put in San Francisco for the rest of his career. He became
the Giants’ GM in 1996 after three years in player personnel. He was in the
Yankees organization from 1985-92 as a scout, scouting director and player
development director.

Sabean has a busy stretch ahead before spring training begins in February.
On Wednesday, his wife, Amanda, is scheduled to give birth to the couple’s
second son—the sixth son for Sabean. Then, baseball’s winter meetings begin
next week in Dallas.

The top priority is upgrading the offense while leaving enough payroll
flexibility to lock up star pitchers Tim Lincecum(notes) and Matt Cain(notes) for what Sabean
hopes is the long haul.

“Anything we’re going to do has to fit into a certain price point and give
us enough flexibility to do other things,” Sabean said. “Pitching is our gold
standard and we’ll do all that we can to take care of that commodity first.”

Bobby Evans, the team’s vice president of baseball operations and Sabean’s
right-hand man, said there have been preliminary conversations with the
pitchers’ representatives that he categorized as “an exchange of ideas and
numbers.” Evans said he expects Lincecum, the two-time NL Cy Young Award
winner, to be open to a long-term deal beyond two years.

“I don’t know how productive it is to get into specifics,” Evans said. “I
don’t thinks he’s closed off to anything short or long, per se. I think he’s
very comfortable with short, but don’t think he’s closed off to anything long. I
think he’s still open to that.”

Sabean hired the 56-year-old Bochy away from the rival San Diego Padres in
2007 to replace Felipe Alou.

“I think we have a mutual respect. We listen to each other, Brian for me is
always available,” Bochy said. “We communicate so much during the course of
the season. We stay in the same building. There’s never any kind of distance or
separation.”

Yet there wasn’t immediate success when Bochy arrived, and both men received
harsh criticism along the way for moves they made and those they didn’t.

That all changed when they led the club to an improbable World Series
championship in 2010 with a band of “castoffs and misfits” as Bochy called
them.

Baer had expected to get deals done during the offseason to keep both men
around for the near future. Sabean and Bochy were instrumental in the team’s
World Series title, the first for the franchise since moving West in 1958.

“I don’t take anything for granted. I’m thankful for their renewed
commitment,” Bochy said.

The Giants went 86-76 for second place in the NL West and missed the
playoffs this year, when they dealt with devastating season-ending injuries to
2010 NL Rookie of the Year catcher Buster Posey(notes) and second baseman Freddy
Sanchez(notes).

Baer recently assumed top decision-making duties from outgoing managing
partner Bill Neukom, saying, “Brian has seen the operation through all sorts of
environments.”

That included the challenging days with home run king Barry Bonds and the
move from Candlestick Park to the waterfront spot at 12-year-old AT&T Park.

“I don’t take the extension lightly,” Sabean said. “Baseball’s a tough
game to succeed in. I’m really thankful that I’m one of the original employees
of the ownership group and as the ownership group changed or morphed, they
recognized our commitment and hard work.”

All-Star slugger Pablo Sandoval(notes) is still deciding whether to spend a short
stint in his native Venezuela, where Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos(notes) was abducted
earlier this month and then rescued. Sandoval is training for a second straight
offseason in Arizona after losing close to 40 pounds last winter.

Last season, Brett Pill(notes) debuted with the San Francisco Giants and performed well during that September call-up. He hit .300/.321/.560 with 15 hits, 2 triples, 2 home runs, and 9 runs batted in over 15 games. Such a small sample size is not a reliable indication of his future, but he should be the team’s first baseman in 2012. Of course, Brandon Belt(notes) and Aubrey Huff(notes) would then have to move to the outfield and possibly platoon there. It just might provide the lineup with some much needed power at a very affordable price.

In any case, the team should at least let the three players battle for the spot during the spring training. It makes no sense to let a player man first base if they are not the best hitter or defender. Huff’s $10 million contract should not mean that he sees the most playing time just to make him earn as much of it as possible. Likewise, Belt’s mammoth potential and minor league track record should not destine him for the spot either. Whoever plays at first base should earn the job rather than have it lazily handed to themselves.

In 2011, Belt and Huff were none too impressive:

Belt: .225/.306/.412 with 42 H, 9 HR, 18 RBI, and 3 SB over 187 AB.

Huff: .246/.306/.370 with 128 H, 12 HR, 59 RBI, and 5 SB over 521 AB.

Pill impressed a lot of people albeit in limited action. He performed solidly in the minors last season too though. Without a doubt, he could provide some pop in the lineup, especially if Belt starts flashing some power. Add in Pablo Sandoval(notes) plus a solid Nate Schierholtz(notes) and the team already looks more formidable than before. All four players would have to perform up to the task and so would the rest of the lineup though. Still, all of those players are already under team control and would be solid, especially if Melky Cabrera(notes) could keep up his success from 2011.

Belt, Huff, and Pill should battle for lineup spots during spring training. The two that shine over the third should then be slotted into first base or the outfield. In my mind, I am thinking that Huff would be the odd man out since I do not think he will connect the dots this coming season. Pill is a first baseman above all else, so Belt would then have to move to left field, which is perfectly okay as long as they are both hitting. In all likelihood, Belt will show his potential with increased playing time in the Majors, which is something that Bruce Bochy needs to learn.

Sure, Brett Pill can be considered a questionable player. His limited MLB experience means that we can only go off his minor league numbers. That means he would have to come out swinging his bat from the start on opening day. Then again, the same could be said for Brandon Belt or Aubrey Huff, depending upon who is actually starting for the San Francisco Giants. I am under the impression that Pill and Belt would not disappoint the team on offense or defense but Aubrey Huff would.

Either way, I do not think that Pill would make much sense in the outfield in comparison to Belt. Therefore, Belt would be the man to put in the outfield. That would yield the best results on defense in any scenario when considering these two players. Nobody wants Huff in the outfield though, so let him be the odd man out that gets the occasional start. With Pill and Belt in the lineup, the offense would undoubtedly get a big boost, assuming that both are hitting decently at any given time.

For more information, visit The San Francisco Giants Site .

Derrick Williams is a fan of the San Francisco Giants and lived in the Bay Area for nearly three years.

More From Yahoo! Sports:

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The 49ers rank 29th in the NFL in passing offense and don’t have a player ranked higher than 44th among the league leaders in receptions. But the use of diverse targets has become a constant during the seven-game winning streak San Francisco takes into Sunday’s game against NFC West rival Arizona.

“Our passing game numbers don’t just jump up at you and slap you in the face,” Walker said Friday. “But we get the job done. That’s why you see what our record is today — a lot of people touching the ball and then having opportunities to make plays.”

The 49ers (8-1) have relied this season on a strong rushing attack led by two-time Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore and have been conservative in the passing game with quarterback Alex Smith, who has been efficient but not prolific. Smith’s passer rating of 97.3 ranks seventh in the NFL, but he ranks just 23rd in the league in both completions and passing yards.

With Gore battling injuries and being limited to zero yards rushing for the first time in his career, the 49ers were forced to rely more on passing against the Giants. That had been the plan entering the game, anyway.

Smith spread the ball around as eight San Francisco players finished with at least one catch. The 49ers have tried to get all of their pass catchers involved, and first-year coach Jim Harbaugh said the team doesn’t have a go-to receiver this year.

“They all are,” Harbaugh said. “That’s how we look at it. We have talented players at multiple positions and they know how to get open and catch the rock, and then know what to do with it after they catch it.”

Tight end Vernon Davis and wide receivers Michael Crabtree, Josh Morgan and Ted Ginn Jr. also have led the 49ers in receptions this year, and rookie running backs Kendall Hunter and Bruce Miller have joined Gore as options out of the backfield.

The 49ers have been working wideout Braylon Edwards, who missed four games with a knee injury, back into the starting lineup. They have even completed passes this season to left tackle Joe Staley on a tackle-eligible play and 330-pound nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga, who occasionally lines up with the offense at fullback in coordinator Greg Roman’s system.

“Every week we change it up,” Walker said. “Defenses and D-coordinators are trying to figure out what we’re doing. We can go to everybody. And that’s a big part of what’s helping Alex out in G-Ro’s offense. Nobody’s a decoy. Everyone’s live, and anyone can get the ball. We’re not running guys off. Everybody’s trying to get open.”

Davis last year became the first tight end in franchise history to lead the 49ers in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in two consecutive seasons. Davis tops the 49ers this year with 34 receptions, but he has seen constant double coverage from opponents, which has affected his numbers.

Crabtree, who missed one game with a foot injury, has 31 catches. No other San Francisco player has more than 19 receptions, but the team has seven players with 10 or more.

“This is the most attention I’ve ever gotten in my life,” said Davis, who had 56 receptions last year and a career-high 78 during his Pro Bowl season of 2009. “They try to get me the ball, but I can’t help it if I’ve got a lot of people on me. But it’s helping out the team and working out in other ways, and it’s setting up things for others.”

Davis and the versatile Walker have combined for seven of San Francisco’s 11 touchdown receptions. They have created such problems for opposing defenses in two-tight end formations that now even Walker is seeing double coverage in some sets.

That happened last week, allowing Davis to get wide open on a short crossing pattern early in the fourth quarter for a catch he turned into a 31-yard scoring play that put San Francisco ahead to stay.

“You saw what happened when they focused on Delanie. I got open underneath and I scored,” Davis said. “When they’re on me, then Delanie’s getting open, and if they keep looking to me, a lot of other guys can get open. So there’s no way they can really stop us.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

According to multiple sources, the San Francisco Giants are actively trying to sign Tim Lincecum to a long-term contract. The move makes sense for the team but probably will not go anywhere. “The Freak” has already stated his preference for one- or two-year deals. Of course, it does not hurt the organization in any way to give it a shot, and success could save a lot of money. It will undoubtedly cost the team more to work on short-term deals.

Let us get one thing across right now. Lincecum may not always be a Giants’ pitcher, and shot-term contracts make a lot of sense for him. Obviously, there is a lot of flexibility for him if he decides one day to pack it up and jump to another organization. He would not have to wait too long to make that move. A lot of players like stability, but having freedom can be just as favorable. In any case, it is not like Lincecum would be unable to sign with a team should a deal not be struck from year-to-year.

Plus, Lincecum stands to make more money on shorter deals than a long-term contract. He will be handed millions more each season through this method. The San Francisco Giants (or other teams) will have to pay an extra premium to keep him around to avoid having another club offer him more money. Of course, there is not much risk involved in signing an ace starting pitcher for one or two seasons when he shows very little downside. If he stays healthy each season, then he will end up earning more money than he would have through a big contract.

The team and the fans might want to see Tim Lincecum locked up for the next decade, but that is not going to happen. I highly doubt that “The Franchise” is going to dedicate himself to more than two years at any given time until he starts to show some decline later in his career. In reality, I do not think he is going to jump ship either though. He should stick around as long as the Giants continue to win games and give him the support he needs to wrack up his own wins. Lincecum should stay the “Franchise” for the years to come. However, he will just do so without a multi-year deal.

Who knows? The organization could give him enough money or enough of a reason to commit himself to three, four, or more years. Without a doubt, money or the right circumstances can change anyone’s mind. By the end of the offseason, Lincecum could be locked in with the team for many years. That is still an unlikely outcome though. He just seems like the kind of guy who would prefer to only commit bits and pieces of his time. In the end, that is not a huge deal for Tim Lincecum or the fans. The San Francisco Giants’ pocketbook might not like it too much though.

For more information, visit The San Francisco Giants Site .

Derrick Williams is a fan of the San Francisco Giants and lived in the Bay Area for nearly three years.

More From Yahoo! Sports:

Five Predictions For Aubrey Huff in 2012

Five Predictions For Buster Posey in 2012

Five Predictions For Nate Schierholtz in 2012

Five Predictions For Tim Lincecum in 2012

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