After traveling to Houston to undergo a physical for the Astros on Monday, Ryan Vogelsong has switched gears and now looks to be re-joining the San Francisco Giants. In Atlanta, the Braves signed a veteran outfielder on Thursday night.
According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants were "working toward a deal" with the right-hander on Thursday and it looked like it would happen. Now, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the two sides have a one-year deal pending physical. The potential contract will reunite Vogelsong with his teammates and the club he's spent the past four seasons with. He was 8-13 with a 4.00 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 32 starts for the Giants in 2014.
San Francisco has a number of question marks in their starting rotation heading into spring training and Vogelsong will help provide some stability and continuity since he's worked with the other pitchers for quite some time. Matt Cain is returning from elbow surgery, and it's unknown (as of right now) how Tim Lincecum and Yusmeiro Petit will be utilized. Lincecum was moved to the bullpen during the 2014 season and Petit has only 56 career starts.
The 37-year-old Vogelsong will help the Giants not have to worry an awful lot about their potential problems.
On the East Coast, the Atlanta Braves added outfield depth and a greater veteran presence to their clubhouse. The team signed outfielder Jonny Gomes to a one-year deal with a vesting option for 2016 on Thursday night, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports. He will make $4 million in 2015, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. The 10-year veteran will join an outfield that consists of Zoilo Almonte, Nick Markakis and B.J. Upton.
Gomes, 34, spent 2014 with the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics, appearing in 112 games and batting .234/.327/.330 with six home runs and 37 RBIs in 321 plate appearances. On Tuesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reported the Braves recent pursuit of Homes and wrote, "he's a potential option to platoon with Almonte in left field."
The new-look Braves are continuing to make moves to stay competitive in 2015 after trading outfielders Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and Evan Gattis.
UPDATE: Vogelsong will earn $4 million plus incentives on the one-year deal, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
