San Francisco Giants beging contract talks with Tim Lincecum
By Bryan Rose
The San Francisco Giants have five days of exclusive rights to speak to their own free agents once the World Series concludes.
They may not need them.
Just hours after the San Francisco Giants agreed to terms with outfielder Hunter Pence on a five year, $90 million dollar contract, the front office has turned the page to fellow free agent to be, Tim Lincecum.
A fan favorite, the two-time Cy Young Award winner, despite his recent struggles is sure to command a pretty penny on the open market, though the Giants are hopeful he doesn’t make it that far as they’ve already began contractual discussions with his agency.
Per Hank Schulman:
"SOURCE: With Pence deal done, #sfgiants now beginning talks with same agency on a Lincecum contract."
The Giants are in a bit of a pickle with Lincecum, who off name and resume will command a relatively large deal. However, the results on field have been mixed for Lincecum – at times appearing completely lost while at others, say like during the Giants’ 2010 World Series run, looking downright dominant.
San Francisco also doesn’t want to lose the face of their franchise (outside of Buster Posey) but already has a large amount of money invested in fellow starters Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain.
On the plus side, the Giants will shed the contract of Barry Zito, which has been hanging over the franchise for the past seven years, so we’ll see just how much money they’re willing to invest in Lincecum in the coming days and weeks.