San Francisco Giants and pitcher Ryan Vogelsong working on new deal

It wasn’t exactly a fantastic year for San Francisco Giants right-hander Ryan Vogelsong, but apparently, his performance hasn’t ousted him from the good graces of the organization.

According to Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area, the Giants will not be picking up a $6.5 million contract option for 2014 on Vogelsong, but instead, the two sides have begun negotiations on a multi-year contract that would likely pay him less money per season. This is the type of move that would be expected from the Giants normally, but in an off-season that has seen them give out a bizarre, $35 million deal for Tim Lincecum, anything seems possible.

In 2013, Vogelsong was an abject disaster, posting a 5.73 ERA in 103.2 innings (with a -0.6 fWAR) before being shut down due to injury. However, we are just over 12 months removed from back-to-back seasons with a sub-3.50 ERA for the 35-year-old, and apparently, the Giants are doubling down on their asset.

For me, anything short of a drastic pay cut would be an overpayment for Vogelsong. The “stuff” was never elite for him, and the advanced metrics screamed that he was a bit of a fluke (if not a full-fledged one) in the two productive seasons. Alas, the Giants need to save money in other places, thanks to the deals for Lincecum and OF Hunter Pence, and extending a player that they already control is a way to keep costs down.