Back in 2011, Ryan Vogelsong was the super-happy story to warm our super-fun hearts. He was pitching much better than anyone could have anticipated, and with his manager getting to pick the pitchers for the All-Star Game, well, Vogelsong was an easy All-Star selection to root for. One of the snubs was right-handed starter Tommy Hanson, but I didn't feel too bad about it. He'd have plenty of chances to make the All-Star team.

Bad Grant. Never assume that. Hanson was 10-4 with a 2.44 ERA at the 2011 All-Star break, and his career completely disintegrated after that. He allowed 24 runs in 26⅔ innings after the break before being shut down for the year. Then he suffered through a long, disappointing slog in 2012 before getting traded to the Angels in 2013, where he made 13 mostly awful starts. He couldn't make the Rangers' rotation in 2014 -- "Sorry, way too hurt for us" -- and was dreadful in Triple-A for the White Sox.

He's with the Giants, now.

#Giants sign RHP Tommy Hanson & LHP Ricky Romero to minor league contracts. Both pitched at Triple-A in 2014 but not this yr #TransactionsBA — Matt Eddy (@MattEddyBA) May 13, 2015

As with Ricky Romero, the default is probably going to be "Won't work out, but keep a good thought." Hanson is just 28 -- that's a year older than Chris Heston, if you're keeping track -- but his shoulder is more like 45 and a heavy smoker.

But we've already got the Vogelsong reference out of the way, and his complete collapse at Triple-A reminds me of Joe Nathan (and 393,392 other pitchers who never did as well after the collapse), so he's an ultimate youneverknow kind of signing. Maybe a move to the bullpen will do him well. Maybe he'll develop into solid depth. You can see what the Giants are chasing.

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Dude's big. Funky delivery. Doesn't need 99 to succeed when he's right. The only question is if he'll ever be right again. It's been three-and-a-half years since Hanson was one of the brightest young pitchers (and most valuable players) in the game. That's a long, long time between valuable seasons, and that story usually doesn't have a happy ending.

But the Giants didn't have to offer a five-year deal to hear it. If you like interesting, low-risk signings -- and they're kind of my obsession -- this is one of the better ones. Work your magic, Giants brass.