Giants decline club options on Zito, Torres

SAN FRANCISCO -- In a mere formality, the Giants confirmed the inevitable by declining the 2014 contract options on left-hander Barry Zito and outfielder Andres Torres, casting them into free agency.

Zito, 35, knew that his seven-year tenure with the Giants was done, as he demonstrated when he took out a full-page advertisement last month in the San Francisco Chronicle to thank fans for their support. Zito finished 5-11 with a 5.74 ERA in 30 appearances (25 starts) this year. He'll receive a $7 million buyout instead of an $18 million club option.

Torres, 35, hit .250 with two home runs and 21 RBIs in 103 games. The switch-hitter's season ended prematurely when he underwent surgery on Aug. 28 for removal of bone spurs in his left Achilles. Spurning the $3 million mutual option on Torres' services, the Giants owe him a $500,000 buyout.

Zito leaves the Giants as the owner of a pair of World Series rings, while Torres helped the club take home the trophy in 2010 before he was traded to the Mets in December 2011. He signed with the Giants again the following offseason.