Affeldt, 36, has enjoyed a 14-year career at the Major League level, the past seven of which have come as a member of the Giants’ bullpen. He’s helped the team capture three World Series Championships in that time and recorded a 3.07 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and 10 saves in 360 1/3 innings.

Originally selected in the third round of the 1997 draft by the Royals, Affeldt debuted with Kansas City in 2002 as a 23-year-old and spent the next three seasons splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen. He was traded to the Rockies at the deadline in 2006, and though he struggled to a 6.91 ERA in his first 27 1/3 innings with Colorado, Affeldt went on to enjoy very strong seasons there in 2007-08. In that time, he worked to a 3.41 ERA in 137 1/3 innings of relief despite pitching roughly half of his games in one of MLB’s most notorious hitters’ havens.

All told, Affeldt logged 924 2/3 innings as a Major Leaguer, posting a 43-46 record to go along with 28 saves, 141 holds, a 3.97 ERA, 7.0 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 52.4 percent ground-ball rate. In addition to his solid regular-season numbers, Affeldt was a postseason hero for the Giants, allowing just three runs over the course of 30 1/3 playoff innings. He was credited as the winning pitcher of the decisive Game 7 in last year’s instant classic showdown with the Royals.

Affeldt signed three contracts with the Giants, the first of which was a two-year, $8MM pact. His strong performance under that deal led the Giants to sign him to a two-year, $9.25MM extension which contained a $5MM club option that was ultimately exercised. The last of his contracts, which he’s currently wrapping up, was a three-year, $18MM free-agent deal signed in the 2012-13 offseason. All told, Affeldt has earned more than $42MM in his playing career, per Baseball-Reference, a very nice sum for a relief pitcher that was never consistently a closer but was long a rock-solid setup man. MLBTR wishes Affeldt and his family the best of luck and continued happiness in his post-playing days.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

If you’re interested in the topic of European baseball, be sure to keep an eye out for today’s MLBTR podcast, which discusses it extensively. In the meantime, here are a few more stray notes from around the league:

• Whatever the Red Sox do with Hanley Ramirez the rest of the way in 2015, opines John Tomase of WEEI.com, finding him a new home this winter should be at the top of the to-do list of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Ramirez has had a deleterious effect throughout the organization, Tomase argues, suggesting that relying on the veteran at first carries too much risk. Yesterday, we polled MLBTR readers on the matter. The current results: a virtual dead heat between “move him to first” and “deal him away.”
• Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle takes a look at the Giants’ upcoming offseason bullpen questions. It could be time for the club to say goodbye to southpaw Jeremy Affeldt, he writes. The 36-year-old has struggled this year, the last of a three-year, $18MM contract he inked to return to San Francisco. Closer Santiago Casilla, meanwhile, can be brought back with a $5.5MM option or cut loose through a $1MM buyout. While it’s an open question whether he should be given the ninth inning, says Schulman, Casilla still seems likely to be retained at that price.

A few more injury notes from around the game…

• Upon meeting with doctors, CC Sabathia learned that he won’t need surgery to repair his arthritic knee, writes George A. King III of the New York Post. Sabathia hopes he can return in early September, and the lefty tells King he’ll pitch with the Yankees in any capacity upon his return, as his main priority is helping the team win. “If that means pitching out of the bullpen, it is what it is,” said Sabathia. “I am not here to make that decision, that’s not for me to make.” Sabathia did add that he feels like he could start, if healthy. Manager Joe Girardi said yesterday that there was a chance Sabathia would be out for the season, but that now seems unlikely.
• The Giants’ injury troubles continued today, as lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt landed on the 15-day disabled list due to a subluxed left knee sustained when playing with his children, per an Associated Press report. The 36-year-old Affeldt hasn’t been himself this season, struggling to a 5.46 ERA with 5.7 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9 in 31 1/3 innings. His injury nonetheless thins out the bullpen for the Giants, who have turned to Triple-A right-hander Mike Broadway.
• Giancarlo Stanton believes he’s about 10 days away from returning to the lineup, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, meaning he’d tentatively come off the disabled list on Sept. 4. Stanton has been absent from the Marlins since breaking his hamate bone on June 26 and undergoing surgery two days later.

• Scott Kazmir threw for the A’s last night, of course, and left after just three innings of work with forearm tightness. Kazmir insisted after the game that it was not a major source of concern, and indeed Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle notes on Twitter that he was able to play catch today without apparent issue.
• Giants reliever Jean Machi appears at risk of becoming a roster casualty when the club welcomes back Jeremy Affeldt and/or Tim Lincecum, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle notes on Twitter. The 33-year-old has produced outstanding results in each of the last two seasons, putting up 119 1/3 innings of 2.49 ERA pitching. But it’s been a different story in 2015, as Machi has suffered a notable decline in his strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.8 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9, presently) and owns a 5.29 ERA in 32 1/3 frames.
• The Rangers got a bargain on recent international signee Andy Ibanez, writes Ben Badler of Baseball America. Texas landed the 22-year-old infielder for just $1.6MM, but Badler pegs him as roughly equivalent in value to a supplemental first-round or second-round draft pick.

• While Affeldt's injury may change the calculus slightly, Baggarly, within that same article, sees the Giants continuing their quest for starting pitching. Manager Bruce Bochy loves Jake Peavy, but the two teams have not discussed a deal and the Giants don’t have the quantity or quality of trade chips to get a seat at the table, according to Baggarly.
• Ex-Giants closer Brian Wilson is expected to begin showcasing his arm for teams within the next few weeks and the Giants have asked Wilson's representative to include them in the process, reports Schulman. Wilson underwent his second Tommy John surgery 15 month ago.
• Dodgers GM Ned Colletti doesn't expect to make any franchise-altering deals prior to the Trade Deadline, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. "I don't know that that player is out there," Colletti said. "When I call around teams, there's not a lot of names of position players being discussed. I'm not sure if there's a market out there on the sell side."
• Earlier today, we learned the Dodgers are prepared to offer Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez something in the neighborhood of $50MM over five years. Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, however, tweets sources have told him the Dodgers' interest in the Cuban right-hander is not as fervent as has been portrayed. 
• Manager Eric Wedge doesn't think the fourth-place Mariners, winners of six straight, will be active at the Trade Deadline, writes MLB.com's Greg Johns. "Unless it's something that raises the bar, I don't think we're going to do anything," said Wedge. "We're not going to move somebody just to move somebody." The Mariners have several veterans on one-year deals, who could be appealing to contenders, including left-handed reliever Oliver Perez, left-handed starter Joe Saunders, outfielder Raul Ibanez, first baseman Kendrys Morales, and shortstop Brendan Ryan.
• Two years ago, the Dodgers had agreed to deals with both the Tigers and Red Sox for Hiroki Kuroda, but the right-hander invoked his no-trade clause to veto each trade. Through his interpreter, Kuroda provided FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal his rationale for refusing to join a team in the playoff hunt: if you only play for a team in August and September, it is not as meaningful as being with a club from Spring Training until the end of the season.

• First baseman Anthony Rizzo has a new seven-year, $41MM deal with the Cubs, but pitcher Jeff Samardzija says he isn't ready to talk contract with the club, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  "Absolutely not," said the pitcher when asked if he's looking to hammer out an extension. "Nope. This is a great team, really coming around right now, playing great baseball. I'm just really looking to keep this going. It's fun to play with these guys."  Samardzija, 28, will have four years of Major League service after the season.  This is just a theory of mine, but having been lured away from football in '06 with a $10MM contract, Samardzija has more financial security at this point in his career than most players, and continuing to bet on his talent will enable him to maximize his next contract.
• Giants GM Brian Sabean told Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com that he hasn't been in touch with former closer Brian Wilson lately.  Sabean says that he doesn't know how Wilson is throwing but has heard The Beard is "working out like a fiend" and is "going to try to showcase himself over the All-Star break or thereabouts."
• The Phillies issued a statement regarding Roy Halladay today: "Roy had successful shoulder surgery yesterday. He had an arthroscopic evaluation and underwent debridement of his labrum and rotator cuff as well as removal of an inflamed bursa.  He'll begin a progressive rehabilitation program and if all goes well, he may possibly begin a throwing program in 6-8 weeks."  The 36-year-old will be eligible for free agency after the season.  Scrambling for depth in the wake of the injuries to Halladay and John Lannan, the Phillies signed Carlos Zambrano to a minor league deal yesterday with a July 1st opt-out date.
• In other NL East injury news, the Braves announced reliever Jonny Venters had the second Tommy John procedure of his career today.  The 28-year-old will be arbitration eligible for the second time after the season, with an expected salary similar to this year's $1.625MM.
• A clerical error could have enabled Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt to pocket an extra $500K a few years back, but he wasn't willing to pocket the money, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle via Affeldt's book, "To Stir a Movement."  Affeldt believes his subsequent contract with the Giants went smoothly partly because of that decision.  

Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt has been a Moye Sports Associates, Inc., client since 1999, and signed a three-year $18MM contract with the Giants shortly after their 2012 World Series Championship. It was Affeldt's third contract with the Giants, following stints with Kansas City, Colorado and Cincinnati. The veteran left-hander spoke with freelance writer Dave Pond about his agency for MLB Trade Rumors:

How did you get hooked up with Mike Moye (Moye Sports Associates, Inc.)

In 1997, I signed with the Royals out of high school and, although I didn't have an agent, I did have a guy who advised me as I negotiated my first contract. When I went off to rookie ball, everyone told me I needed an agent. My mom had seen an article on Mike in Sports Spectrum [a Christian sports publication], told me that he was an agent and a Christian, and that she thought I should give him a call. 

I called Mike and we talked. He told me that I didn't really need an agent during rookie ball. He wasn't just trying to sign me to sign me. Mike said that we should just get to know one another, and see if he was the kind of guy who I wanted to work with. He said he could help me get shoes and things like that — that I didn't need an agent to do those deals — but down the road, if I wanted to work with him, that we could talk about it then.  Mike's not one of these gung-ho, Jerry MaGuire-type guys who comes in with his hair slicked back and a lot of talk. He's a warm, low-key guy, and very professional at what he does. He really takes the time to listen to you, and learn what's important to you. 

A couple of seasons later, I was really doing well in Charleston, and made the single-A All-Star team. I was at the hotel, and I got a bunch of calls from different agents, and I really didn't want to meet with any of them. I was still trying to figure our professional baseball at the time, and I didn't want to have to deal with any of that. So, I called Mike and told him I wanted to sign.

That's what impressed me about Mike so much — he wasn't all about how fast he could sign someone, or see how many guys he could sign. He wanted to make sure I was a quality player, not just on talent, but when it came to character, too — that I was I the kind of guy he wanted to represent, and that I wanted a guy like him to represent me. It was a two-way street, and I was really impressed with that.

What sets Moye apart from other agents?

Several GMs have told me that Mike has a real bulldog mentality when it comes to representing his players in the negotiating room, but that he's one of the best guys to work with as well. He knows his stuff, but he doesn't lie to make you look better or make a team look worse. He doesn't manipulate situations — he's honest with teams he's talking to, and he expects teams to believe him. I want an agent who teams enjoy working with, as well as one with high integrity, good character and good values.

When you meet him, he's not "Hollywood" —  he doesn't seem like your stereotypical agent. You definitely don't look at him at first glance and think "sports agent." I didn't want a Hollywood-type guy — I want to work with a guy who I enjoy spending time with. He's a family-first guy who cares about his wife and kids and where they are at spiritually, so all of that really played into it, too. 

Why have you stayed with Moye Sports?

I'm a very strong Christian man, so I want that type of influence in my life, whether I'm negotiating a contract or if when I'm frustrated with the front office. Mike can talk to me from a Christian perspective as well as from an agent's perspective and that's big for me, because it helps me make the right decisions. Most importantly, Mike reminds me about who I represent — I don't represent me, I represent Jesus.

As professional athletes, we're basically entrepreneurs. We run our own business, and we need people to help us make decisions that will be the best for our families. When we're dealing with the kind of money we're dealing with, and have to make the kind of decisions we're make, I have to have wise counsel, and know that everything is on the table. 

Mike's not just a "yes" man, and he fights for what he knows is right. For Mike, it's never been about how much money he can get Jeremy, so that he'll get a bigger cut — it's how can he help me in life, so that I not only receive great contracts to support my family, but also that I represent  Jesus well in everything I do. Over the years, Mike has helped me become a Major League Christian athlete — not just a Major Leaguer, but a solid Christian man who can represent the Gospel in a tough arena to represent Jesus in. 

Here's the latest from around the division…

• Scott Boras introduced client Hyun-Jin Ryu to the media (including Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times) today and compared Ryu to Mark Buehrle in terms of body size and ability.  The Dodgers won the rights to the Korean southpaw with a $25.737MM posting bid and have until December 10 to work out a contract, or else Ryu will return to the Korean Baseball Organization.  As Hernandez notes, Boras and Ryu were both vague about the likelihood of Ryu signing with L.A., though the Buehrle comparison could be a hint about Boras' contract expectations.
• Janie McCauley of the Associated Press (Twitter link) has the salary breakdown of Jeremy Affeldt's new three-year contract with the Giants.  Affeldt receives a $3MM signing bonus and will earn $5MM per season in 2013-15.
• Jason Giambi withdrew his name from consideration to be the Rockies' next hitting coach, and Giambi told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that "it could be a PR nightmare" if the team struggles under new manager Walt Weiss and Giambi (a finalist for the manager's job) is already on the staff.  Giambi had said he wanted to keep playing if the Rockies didn't hire him to manage but now admits to Renck that "I have no idea what I am going to do next."
• The Rockies have finalized their 2013 coaching staff, reports Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.  Jim Wright, the club's pitching coach in 2002, returns to the job after most recently serving as Colorado's bullpen coach.  

The 33-year-old Affeldt was a critical component to the Giants 2012 World Series title, pitching to a 2.70 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 with a sky-high 59.9 percent ground-ball rate in 63 1/3 innings. Unlike many southpaws, Affeldt was effective against both right-handed (.656 OPS) and left-handed batters (.621 OPS).

The price for free agent relievers appears to be high early this offseason, as the Giants' NL West rivals recently signed Brandon League to a three-year deal worth $22.5MM. Affeldt has been with the Giants since signing a two-year contract as a free agent in November of 2008. He is represented by Moye Sports Associates, as shown in MLBTR's Agency Database.

It was first reported late last week that the Giants were discussing a new contract with Affeldt. He ranked 50th on Tim Dierkes' list of Top 50 free agents. Tim correctly predicted a reunion with the Giants, as did Ben Nicholson-Smith. A look at the contest leaderboard shows that the rest of the writing team, myself included, swung and missed on Affeldt's destination.

With Affeldt secured, the Giants' biggest decision pertaining to their bullpen will now likely be whether or not to tender former closer Brian Wilson a contract following his Tommy John surgery.

FRIDAY: The Giants and Jeremy Affeldt are in talks about a three-year contract worth $15-20MM, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports (on Twitter). Earlier tonight, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported that the team was confident in re-signing the veteran left-hander.

Affeldt, 33, pitched to a 2.70 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 63 1/3 relief innings for San Francisco this year. He added another 10 1/3 scoreless innings in the playoffs as the Giants clinched the World Series title. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes ranked Affeldt 50th in his Top 50 Free Agents ranking, predicting that he would re-sign with the team.

• The Giants are confident that they will be re-signing Jeremy Affeldt and the club believes that they will work out a three-year deal, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  GM Brian Sabean indicated yesterday that he is optimistic about being about to keep Affeldt, Angel Pagan, and Marco Scutaro.
• Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter) that he has not approached Corey Hart's agent about an extension and doesn't have immediate plans to do so.  A report earlier today suggested that the Brewers and Hart were discussing a deal to keep him beyond 2013.  The first baseman/right fielder is set to earn $10MM next season.
• The Tigers aren't interested in Soriano and plan to stay in-house to find their closer, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  Right-hander Bruce Rondon, 21, will get a chance at the job.  

• "We're not going to do that," said Beane to MLB.com's Lyle Spencer when asked if the Athletics will trade one of their starting pitchers for a shortstop. "In years we've been successful, it's because we've had good young pitchers."
• Giants GM Brian Sabean confirmed to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick that the team will tender a contract to Hunter Pence prior to the November 30th deadline. With a projected salary of $13.8MM, Pence will be this winter's most expensive arbitration case.
• Sabean also told Crasnick that the Giants are "actively working" to re-sign Angel Pagan, Jeremy Affeldt, and Marco Scutaro. He said he's "optimistic" about all three but declined to go into detail about the talks.

Here's some more news from around the NL West…

• The Giants want to bring back all three players, though Baggarly reports that team officials "are less confident about their ability to" re-sign Pagan given how much interest the outfielder is likely to get from other teams.
• Scutaro, Affeldt and Pagan all want to return to the Giants, though Affeldt specified that he's looking for a multiyear contract, writes Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle.
• The Giants are talking to the agents of the three players to see if a deal can be struck before the end of the team's exclusive negotiating period, tweets Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  None of the deals are close and Schulman predicts that Pagan will test the market, while Scutaro is the player with the best chance to re-sign quickly.
• Walt Weiss, Jason Giambi and Matt Williams will all meet with Rockies owner Dick Monfort and GM Dan O'Dowd, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post.  These three and Tom Runnells (who has already met with management) appear to be the final candidates to be the next Rockies manager.  (Both links are to Twitter).
• The Rockies are unlikely to pick a new manager by the end of the week, writes MLB.com's Thomas Harding, as O'Dowd is currently out of town and will then be attending next week's GM meetings.
• The Astros have claimed right-hander Sam Demel and infielder Jake Elmore off waivers from the Diamondbacks, according to an Astros media release.  Demel, who came to Arizona in the 2010 trade that sent Conor Jackson to Oakland, has a 4.95 ERA in 72 relief appearances for the Snakes since 2010, with a 1.85 K/BB ratio and 48 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings.  Elmore, 25, was a 34th-round pick of the D'Backs in 2008 who made his Major League debut this season, posting a .497 OPS in 73 plate appearances.
• In news from earlier today, the Giants declined their 2013 option on Aubrey Huff and I posted a collection of Diamondbacks notes.

• The Angels are still working to trade Dan Haren and expect to move him by Friday, reports ESPN's Jim Bowden (Twitter links). Haren will bring a much bigger return that what they received for Santana, adds Bowden.
• Angels GM Jerry Dipoto acknowledged that "in all likelihood we weren't going to exercise (Santana's) option … We got piece we didn't have," reports Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
• Re-signing Zack Greinke is a "huge priority" for the Angels, says Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Part of the club's motivation to move Santana (and Haren) was to free up money for Greinke.
• The Angels are showing no inclination of making Torii Hunter a $13.3MM qualifying offer by this Friday's deadline, reports USA Today's Bob Nightengale (on Twitter). The Halos will not receive draft pick compensation if Hunter signs elsewhere in that case.
• Marco Scutaro told Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com that his first choice this offseason is to re-sign with the Giants (Twitter link). When asked what kind of contract he was seeking, the infielder joked "15 years, three thousand million dollars."
• "There's a market established," said Jeremy Affeldt to Baggarly in reference to Brandon League's new contract (Twitter link). The veteran southpaw said he will cherish his time with the Giants if he doesn't re-sign with them.
• Oliver Perez pitched to a 2.12 ERA in 29 2/3 relief innings for the Mariners this year, and he told MLB.com's Josh Liebeskind that he enjoyed his new role and would like to remain in the bullpen going forward. Perez will be a free agent this offseason.
• The Dodgers will hire Bob Engle as their Latin America scouting director, reports Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun (on Twitter). Engle left the Mariners this month and had previously worked with the Blue Jays as well. He's responsible for signing Roy Halladay and Felix Hernandez as amateurs, among others.

• The Giants will decline their $10MM club option on Aubrey Huff, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area. The news isn't much of a surprise given Huff's injuries and struggles at the plate since 2010. Huff's contract contains a $2MM buyout.
• MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez spoke to several members of the Giants organization about the impact that Marco Scutaro had on the team following his acquisition from the Rockies.
• Gonzalez's colleague, Chris Haft, writes that the Giants and Scutaro will "likely forge a deal" this offseason, as the 37-year-old is too valuable both on and off the field to let go.
• Haft also writes that Angel Pagan is expected to receive a multi-year contract with an average annual value perhaps in the $10MM range in a thin free agent market. Sabean will need to determine if Pagan is worth that to his team.
• Haft goes on to say that Jeremy Affeldt could be in line for a multi-year deal on the free agent market. That, along with the presence of Jose Mijares could mean that Affeldt will find himself wearing a new uniform come 2013.