Barry Zito: what will the SF Giants do with him?

As we write this post, Barry Zito and the Giants are down 0-5 to the Cincinnati Reds ... folks, this isn't pretty and it's getting uglier with each Zito outing. The question then becomes, what will the Giants do with Zito? Trade him - will any team want his huge contract? Send him to a bullpen that's already solidified? Send him to the minors to regain his form - we already tried that one? Or just flat out release him and eat (gulp) the remaining $46 million left on his contract after the 2011 season?

Zito is due to earn $19 million in 2012, $20M in 2013, and $7M buyout in 2014. That's a lot of cha-cha bowls!

As of date the biggest contract to be released by a Major League club was in 2006, when the Arizona Diamondbacks unloaded Russ Ortiz (former Giant) and his $22 million contract. If the Giants were to release Zito it would dwarf what the D'backs unloaded and would set a new record by over 100%!

With Jonathan Sanchez due to return, this question of what to do with Zito is likely coming to a head, and it doesn't look good.

If you were leading the Giants club, what would you do?

Barry Zito in the August 2011 issue of GQ

Barry Zito modeling for True Religion