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Tim Lincecum

The Latest On Matt Cain & Tim Lincecum

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There's an "understanding" between the Giants and Matt Cain that they'll try to wrap up contract extension talks before the Opening Day, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. There is no evidence they are close to a deal or that they've even made progress in recent weeks. Extension talks with Tim Lincecum are on hold so the team can focus on Cain given the short window.

The Giants made Cain an initial offer a few weeks ago, though the 27-year-old right-hander is said to be seeking a nine-figure guarantee. The team's offer was not close to $100MM according to Heyman. Cain will earn $15MM in 2012 before hitting the open market next winter, when he will arguably be the best free agent right-handed starter since Mike Mussina in 2000.

Lincecum signed a two-year extension worth $40.5MM this offseason, and San Francisco offered him a five-year deal worth roughly $100MM not too long ago. The two sides are said to be $75MM or so apart.

NL West Notes: Lincecum, Padres, Moores, Jimenez

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Here's a look at some items out of the National League West..

  • The Giants offered Tim Lincecum at least $100MM over five years a couple months back, but it now it appears that the two sides are at least $75MM apart, with the right-hander looking for a seven- or eight-year deal, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
  • Jeff Moorad has withdrawn his application to be the controlling partner of the Padres, meaning that John Moores will own the team for the foreseeable future, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
  • Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres runs down the particulars of what this means for the future of the club.  Moorad will remain the Vice Chairman and CEO of the Padres while Moores will remain the majority owner of the team as he has since 1994-95.  Krasovic also writes that MLB is likely to approve the 20-year TV deal between the Padres and FOX.
  • Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez don't exactly see eye-to-eye with former teammate Ubaldo Jimenez on his dissatisfaction with the Rockies, writes Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.  The pitcher said that he was upset with the club in part because Tulowitzski and Gonzalez received lucrative new deals following the 2010 season while he did not.

Giants Notes: Cain, Lincecum, Payroll, Beltran

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The Giants made their roster available to the media today, on the eve of the club's annual FanFest event. Here's latest on the 2010 World Champs…

  • “We’ve talked … and it’s a process,” said Matt Cain to reporters (including Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News) when asked about an extension. “We’ll see what’s going to happen. We’re definitely here for this year.”
  • The right-hander did stop short of saying he'll give the team a hometown discount. “That’s tough,” he said. “You definitely love being in San Francisco, and we do. We have a year till free agency. That’s something as a player you think about, having that opportunity. It’s hard to say what will happen in these next several months.”
  • “Budget won’t be a factor," said GM Brian Sabean when asked about signing both Cain and Tim Lincecum long-term. "We’ll have enough wherewithal in the budget that we won’t have to pick. Whether that happens, I can’t predict. But we have it in the budget to sign both players.”
  • Sabean also said that increasing payroll to add players in midseason has "always been possible with our ownership group" according to John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
  • The Giants wanted Carlos Beltran back as a left fielder, says Shea (on Twitter). They were willing to give him two years, but not the $26MM the Cardinals gave him.

Bay Area Notes: Nady, Lincecum, Manny, Jackson

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Moneyball received six Academy Award nominations on Tuesday, joining Pride Of The Yankees and Field Of Dreams as the only baseball-centric movies to ever be nominated for the prestigious Best Picture Oscar.  While I'm not sure if I'd call Moneyball one of the very best films of the year, it's definitely a well-made, entertaining movie, as outlined in my review from last September.

Here are some non-cinematic notes from both the Athletics and the Giants in this roundup of Bay Area news…

Giants Sign Tim Lincecum To Two-Year Deal

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The Giants and Tim Lincecum have agreed to a two-year, $40.5MM contract extension, avoiding arbitration with the two-time Cy Young Award winner.  The contract became official once Lincecum passed his physical with the team. 

The two-year deal buys out Lincecum's final two seasons of arbitration eligibility and avoids a potentially historic hearing.  The right-hander will earn $18MM in 2012 and $22MM in 2013 to go along with a $500K signing bonus.  The deal includes a limited no-trade clause that allows Lincecum to select a certain number of teams to which he can block a trade.  Both sides remain open to discussing a longer term contract in the near future.

Lincecum, a Beverly Hills Sports Council client, filed for a $21.5MM salary through arbitration and the Giants countered at $17MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Both figures set new records for players with less than six years of service time. Derek Jeter ($18.5MM) and the Yankees ($14.25MM) had established the previous marks more than a decade ago, in 2001.

Lincecum, 27, has a 2.98 ERA with 9.9 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 47.1% ground ball rate in 1028 career innings. He already has two Cy Young Awards and four All-Star Game selections to his name. Only four pitchers – Roy Halladay, C.C. Sabathia, Justin Verlander and Dan Haren – have produced more wins above replacement since 2007, Lincecum's rookie season.

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle was the first to report that an agreement had been reached, with Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reporting earlier on Tuesday that the sides were "very, very close" to a two-year deal worth a little more than $40MM.  Schulman, his Chronicle colleague John Shea and Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News all added contract details (all links are via Twitter).

Rosenthal On Lincecum, Jackson, Red Sox, Abreu

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The Prince Fielder sweepstakes are nearing an end, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote earlier this morning. Click here for the latest on Fielder and continue reading for Rosenthal’s rumors…

  • It appears likely that Giants starter Tim Lincecum will sign a two-year deal in the $41-42MM range, Rosenthal writes. The Giants and their ace right-hander exchanged arbitration submissions last week and the club has since offered Lincecum a deal worth $100MM-plus.
  • It’s possible that Edwin Jackson will sign a one-year contract, like fellow Scott Boras client Ryan Madson. The Red Sox and Mariners could be interested in Jackson if he’s willing to sign for one year. 
  • The Red Sox aren’t pursuing Wandy Rodriguez, according to Rosenthal.
  • The Orioles could be a logical trade partner for Yankees right-hander A.J. Burnett in Rosenthal’s estimation.
  • The Red Sox seem to have interest in acquiring an everyday shortstop and the Reds, Giants and Rays are looking for veteran shortstop help, Rosenthal writes. 
  • Free agent infielder Ryan Theriot would prefer to stay in the National League, unless he can obtain a starting job.
  • Earlier in the offseason the Astros inquired about Ian Desmond, who hasn’t convinced everyone with the Nationals that he’s their long-term solution at shortstop.
  • Some teams would play Gordon Beckham at short, according to Rosenthal. Beckham has only played second and third in three seasons at the MLB level.
  • The Angels aren’t ready to trade Bobby Abreu, who could be a fit for Detroit’s DH opening.

NL West Notes: Dodgers Owners, Lincecum, Rockies

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Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays were both elected into the Hall Of Fame on this day in 1962 and 1979, respectively.  As you might expect, both legends went to Cooperstown in their first year of eligibility.  Mays received 409 of 432 votes; at the time, only inaugural inductees Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner had received a higher percentage of the vote.

While we ponder how in the world anyone could leave Mays, Robinson or any of the original HOF class off a ballot, here are some items from around the NL West…

Giants, Lincecum Nearing Two-Year Deal

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The Giants are nearing a two-year contract with Tim Lincecum, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The Beverly Hills Sports Council client is "very, very close" to an extension worth a little more than $40MM. A two-year deal would buy out the right-hander's final two seasons of arbitration eligibility and avoid a potentially historic hearing.

Lincecum filed for a $21.5MM salary through arbitration and the Giants countered at $17MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Both figures set new records for players with less than six years of service time. Derek Jeter ($18.5MM) and the Yankees ($14.25MM) had established the previous marks more than a decade ago, in 2001.

Lincecum, 27, has a 2.98 ERA with 9.9 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 47.1% ground ball rate in 1028 career innings. He already has two Cy Young Awards and four All-Star Game selections to his name. Only four pitchers – Roy Halladay, C.C. Sabathia, Justin Verlander and Dan Haren – have produced more wins above replacement since 2007, Lincecum's rookie season.

This post was first published on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012.

Giants Optimistic About New Deal With Cain

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There are early indications that the Giants will have a decent or better chance to lock Matt Cain on another long-term deal, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Heyman adds that the club offered Tim Lincecum a deal worth at least $100MM over five years but is now focusing on one- and two-year deals after being rebuffed.

Giants people are saying only that talks are "ongoing'' with Cain, but there seems to be a fair amount of optimism they can keep Cain for less than $20MM a season.   Cain already took one long team-friendly deal when he agreed to a three-year, $27.25MM contract prior to the 2010 season.  Our own Luke Adams recently explored what it would take for the Giants to lock the 27-year-old up with a new deal.

However, Lincecum seems more likely to wind up with a two-year deal rather than sign a contract into his free-agent years.  We've heard all offseason that the pitcher is in search of a short-term deal.  Yesterday we learned that the Giants offered a two-year, $40MM contract and Lincecum's representatives countered with a two-year, $44MM offer.

Heyman writes that baseball people believe that Cain could match Cliff Lee's $120MM deal as a free agent if he tests the market after the year, but word is that he badly wants to stay in San Francisco. Those in the industry also believe that if Lincecum can put together two more outstanding years, he can become the game's first $200MM pitcher on the open market in 2013.

Giants, Lincecum, $4MM Apart On New Contract

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The Giants have offered Tim Lincecum a two-year, $40MM contract and the pitcher's representatives have countered with a two-year, $44MM offer, reports Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).  The small gap between the two offers leads Brown to believe that an agreement will be reached.

Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reported yesterday that "significant progress" had been made between the two sides since they filed their arbitration figures (Lincecum for $21.5MM, the Giants for $17MM).  A two-year contract would cover both of Lincecum's remaining arbitration years and also fit Lincecum's stated preference for short-term deals, though the Giants had also explored an eight-year extension with the two-time Cy Young Award winner earlier this winter.

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