| Associated Press
Oakland, Calif. — Veteran reliever Yusmeiro Petit has agreed to a $2.55 million, one-year contract to stay with the Oakland Athletics, pending a physical, his agent said.
The deal could pay the right-handed Petit up to $3 million based on incentives for games pitched, agent Rafael Godoy said Sunday night.
“He’s excited to return. It was his first choice all along,” Godoy said via text message. “The team had been in contact all winter.”
Also Sunday, Oakland was closing in on a $2.25 million, one-year deal with veteran righty reliever Sergio Romo, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations said. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract wasn’t finalized. He also still must pass a physical. If finalized, Romo’s contract would include an additional $750,000 in possible incentives.
The two additions for the reigning AL West champions would provide significant experience to manager Bob Melvin’s bullpen that lost closer Liam Hendriks in free agency to the Chicago White Sox. Petit and Romo have 13 years of major league experience apiece, and both pitchers are plenty familiar with the Bay Area having also played for the San Francisco Giants.
The 36-year-old Petit will return for a fourth season in Oakland, having gone 2-1 with a 1.66 ERA over 26 outings and 21⅔ innings during the shortened 60-game 2020 season. He is versatile given his ability to pitch multiple innings.
Romo, who turns 37 on March 4, was 1-2 with a 4.05 ERA and five saves and 23 strikeouts in 24 appearances and 20 innings last year for Minnesota.
A’s pitchers and catchers were due to report Tuesday to the club’s spring training facility in Mesa, Arizona. The first workout is Wednesday. Oakland has reached the playoffs each of the past three years — losing the AL wild-card game in 2018 and ‘19 then in a four-game AL Division Series to the rival last year — but faced scrutiny for a quiet offseason.
FOX Sports was first to report Petit’s pending signing.
Mets sign pitchers
The New York Mets have signed left-hander Mike Montgomery and righty Tommy Hunter to minor league contracts, adding a couple of veterans to the staff at the start of spring training.
The Mets said both pitchers have been invited to big league camp.
The 34-year-old Hunter went 0-1 with one save and a 4.01 ERA in 24 games for Philadelphia last season. He also has played for Texas, Baltimore, the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland and Tampa Bay.
Hunter is 56-45 with 22 saves and 4.08 ERA in 472 games during a 13-year career. A starter in his early days, he’s pitched exclusively in relief since 2012.
The 31-year-old Montgomery pitched three games for Kansas City last year, giving up three earned runs in 5⅓ innings. Used in a variety of roles, he is 23-34 with three saves and a 3.84 ERA in 183 games over six seasons with Seattle, the Cubs and Kansas City.
Montgomery got a save in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series for the Cubs. He relieved with two outs in the 10th inning and a runner on first base and induced a groundout to preserve an 8-7 win at Cleveland.