Barry Zito has known for months he would be leaving the Giants after seven up-and-down years in San Francisco. The sides formally parted ways Saturday, when the Giants declined to exercise Zito's $18 million contract option for next season and instead owe the left-hander a $7 million buyout. Also Saturday, San Francisco declined its $3 million mutual option for outfielder Andres Torres and must pay him a $500,000 buyout. The biggest decision still facing general manager Brian Sabean and assistant GM Bobby Evans is due by Monday: Whether to exercise right-hander Ryan Vogelsong's $6.5 million club option that includes a $300,000 buyout. Because the 35-year-old Zito realized this moment was coming, he recently took out a full-page newspaper ad to thank the fans for standing by him through a tough tenure on this side of San Francisco Bay. The 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner across the water for the Oakland Athletics, Zito just completed a $126 million, seven-year contract with the Giants. Read more http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9919217/barry-zito-contract-option-declined-san-francisco-giants
