MLB.com-Chris Haft
Right-hander Scott Munter was the lone Giants player not to be tendered a 2008 contract before Wednesday's 9 p.m. PT deadline, casting the 6-foot-6 reliever into free agency.
The Giants tendered contracts to right-handers Vinnie Chulk, Kevin Correia and Brad Hennessey, all of whom are eligible for salary arbitration.
Munter, 27, has spent parts of the last three seasons with San Francisco. He appeared to establish himself with the Giants in 2005, posting a 2-0 record and a 2.56 ERA in 45 appearances while displaying an impressive sinking fastball. But he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow that September and never regained form afterward, posting ERAs exceeding 4.00 in the next two seasons.
Last season, Munter was 1-6 with a 4.17 ERA in 48 games at Triple-A Fresno and 1-1, with a 4.22 ERA in 12 appearances with the Giants. In what amounted to his last chance to prove himself with the Giants, Munter was 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 10 games for Scottsdale in the recently completed Arizona Fall League season. He allowed 13 hits and eight runs (two earned) with three walks and six strikeouts in nine innings.
Chulk was 5-4 with a 3.57 ERA in 57 games last season before a circulatory ailment robbed him of sensation in his right middle finger. He's expected to compete for a bullpen setup role in Spring Training. Correia was 4-7 with a 3.45 ERA in 59 appearances and asserted himself as a candidate for the rotation by posting a 3-1 mark with a 2.54 ERA in eight starts. Hennessey, in his first season as a full-time reliever, led the Giants with 19 saves and 69 appearances while finishing 4-5 with a 3.42 ERA.
The Giants roster stands at 39 players.
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