He'll actually join NBC Sports Bay Area as an analyst for the pre- and postgame shows. Kontos, 35, split last season between the independent Long Island Ducks and the Nationals' Triple-A affiliate. He'll walk away with a 3.10 ERA over 350 career relief appearances, with most of his success coming as a member of the Giants.

Kontos signed with the Nationals in late May with the hope of eventually earning a promotion to the big club, but that never came close to materializing after he posted a 6.07 ERA and 1.70 WHIP across 31 appearances with Fresno. The veteran reliever is now free to sign with any organization, but with the minor-league regular season drawing to a close within the next few days, he's unlikely to pitch again in 2019.

Kontos joined the Cubs on a minor-league deal during the offseason but didn't play a game with the organization after spring training. The 33-year-old had 28 appearances between the Indians, Yankees and Pirates last season and had a 4.39 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 15:7 K:BB over 26.2 innings. Kontos will report to Triple-A Fresno.

Though he was attending spring training as a non-roster invitee, Kontos looked like he would have a realistic shot at winning a bullpen role with the big club at the outset of camp after reportedly increasing his fastball velocity while working out at the Driveline Baseball facility in Chicago during the offseason. Any improvement in the quality of Kontos' arsenal wasn't apparent in his spring stats, as he surrendered five runs on seven hits and one walk over 5.1 innings during Cactus League play.