10:33pm: The Tigers are among the many teams that have spoken to the Giants about Lopez, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (on Twitter). Earlier tonight, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported that the two sides have had trade discussions even after Detroit's acquisition of Jose Veras earlier today.
In a separate tweet, Knobler reports that Pence is available, though the price is very high. The Giants aren't likely to trade Lincecum, according to Knobler.
2:32pm: The Giants plan to make qualifying offers to Pence and Lincecum after the season, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, leading one source to suggest their asking price is "very strong" on the pair.
1:22pm: The Giants have told other teams they'd rather re-sign Pence than trade him, according to ESPN's Jayson Stark.
10:53am: The Giants will entertain trade offers for veterans, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says that while the club would ideally like to keep potential free agents Tim Lincecum, Hunter Pence, and Javier Lopez, they feel they must listen to any reasonable proposal.
Lincecum, 29, has a 4.95 ERA in 313 regular season innings since dominating from 2008-11. This year, strikeouts are up and walks down, suggesting he could be a 3.50 ERA pitcher moving forward. With over $7MM remaining, his salary could be prohibitive for some clubs, and his ERA has bounced around in the mid to high-4.00s since May. A qualifying offer, which could cost $14MM, is a question mark at this point for the Giants if he stays, in my opinion.
Pence, 30, is hitting .277/.320/.457 in 440 plate appearances this year. He's hitting .259/.300/.401 since June 1st, and probably doesn't qualify as an impact bat even in a weak market. Rosenthal suggests he would receive a qualifying offer from the Giants after the season, so they'd be looking to top the value of a supplemental draft pick. Of course, the Giants have typically placed a lower value on such picks than most clubs. Pence has around $4.6MM remaining on his contract.
Lopez, 36, would be the easiest of the three to move. About 64% of the batters he's faced have been left-handed hitters, and he's dominated against them. The Braves and Indians seek left-handed relief. The Diamondbacks are in the market as well, though the division rivals haven't matched up on a trade since '05. The Giants would consider re-signing Lopez in the offseason, according to Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona, but "indications are that Lopez would like to play closer to his Virginia home."
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
