Cody Ross earned $4.65 million last season and was available to any team willing to claim him (and his remaining salary) off waivers in mid-August.

San Francisco made a claim, with some reports speculating they did so mostly to block San Diego from doing the same, and then Ross slugged five homers in 15 playoff games to help the Giants win the World Series.

Without that big postseason Ross probably would have gotten non-tendered last month and might still be looking for part-time work as a free agent, but the Giants decided they couldn’t possibly let him go after all those heroics and today avoided arbitration with Ross by agreeing to a one-year, $6.3 million contract.

If you consider $6.3 million some sort of tax on winning the World Series it looks like a bargain. However, if you consider $6.3 million simply the price the Giants are paying for a 30-year-old corner outfielder who hit just .269 with a .322 on-base percentage and .413 slugging percentage last season and is a career .265/.323/.466 hitter … well, it’s a pretty big overpay.