SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Jeremy Affeldt made it known he needed some job security - and the reliable reliever got it.
The left-hander and the World Series champion San Francisco Giants completed an $18 million, three-year contract Wednesday. Bobby Evans, the team's vice president of baseball operations, said the deal had been finalized to keep Affeldt in the Bay Area.
``We are so happy to be back with our San Francisco family,'' Affeldt said, in San Francisco for his physical and meetings.
The 33-year-old Affeldt went 1-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 67 appearances covering 63 1-3 innings this season for the Giants.
When the season ended, he said publicly that he wanted to stay but would not accept a one-year deal because he wanted to provide some stability for his family - he has a wife and three young sons. Affeldt also was a key member of the bullpen during the club's 2010 run to the franchise's first championship since 1954.
General manager Brian Sabean called re-signing Affeldt one of his top offseason priorities. Affeldt lives on the West Coast in his hometown of Spokane, Wash., so re-signing with the Giants was appealing from that standpoint as well.
He has spent the past four of his 11 major league seasons with San Francisco, going 10-9 with a 2.73 ERA in 237 1-3 innings and 184 outings.
Affeldt dealt with two fluke, non-baseball injuries the past two seasons.
In late April, he sprained his right knee and went on the disabled list after he reached out to catch his son, Walker, as the 60-pound 4-year-old jumped off the couch to hug his arriving father.
On Sept. 8, 2011, the pitcher sliced his non-throwing hand nearly to the artery while separating frozen hamburgers during an outdoor barbecue with his family on an off day. The paring knife he was using pushed through a hamburger patty and deep into his hand. Affeldt came within a millimeter of an artery and underwent surgery about eight hours after the injury to repair nerve damage in his pinkie.
