A’s happy to welcome back ‘overlooked’ Casilla
On the day reliever Santiago Casilla officially joined the A's, he recited an old saying: "It's always good to go home, and I'm happy to get this new opportunity with the Athletics."
The Giants bade farewell to one of their bullpen stalwarts without making him an offer, instead signing Mark Melancon to close and choosing to hand the setup jobs to younger, cheaper relievers on staff.
Giants fans could not wait for Casilla to clear out his locker after he blew nine saves and pouted about the way manager Bruce Bochy used him.
Across the bay, the A's saw Casilla's messy denouement in San Francisco as an opportunity to bolster their bullpen with a 36-year-old right-hander who started his career with the A's and still throws 94 mph.
Casilla will pitch outside the spotlight of a team expected to compete for a championship.
[...] while Forst said the right things about the closer role being settled in spring training, Casilla almost certainly will set up Ryan Madson, who had 30 saves last year.
According to a source, Bochy sent Casilla a heartfelt letter thanking him for his contributions.
Despite the hard feelings, Casilla was said to be heartbroken the Giants did not offer him a contract and said Friday, "I would have been happy to return to the Giants."