SUNDAY: Giants Vice President and Assistant General Manager Bobby Evans told reporters at the news conference announcing Hunter Pence's extension the team wants to re-sign Lincecum. "We've begun those discussions and hopefully there’s an opportunity to bring Timmy back and in short order," Evans said (as quoted by Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com). "That's our hope. We don't intend to wait if Timmy's willing to work with us right now. And that's the impression I'm getting — that they're willing to work with us."
Lincecum may be willing, but he isn't in a hurry to work out a new deal. "I've still got time to think about this," said Lincecum last night. "It's not a pressing thing for me, and I'll make a decision when the time comes."
SATURDAY: The Giants locked up Hunter Pence earlier today, but they're not done just yet. With the outfielder taken care of, the Giants are now discussing a new deal with pitcher Tim Lincecum, a source tells Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). As the MLBTR Agency Database shows, both players are represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Lincecum's value obviously isn't where it once was, but he has helped his stock this season with an improved performance over his 2012 effort. So far in 2013, the 29-year-old has posted a 4.37 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 versus a 5.18 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 last season. Meanwhile, his FIP (3.73), xFIP (3.56), and SIERA (3.75) are all better than his 2013 ERA as well as his 2012 marks.
While The Freak hasn't quite regained his Cy Young form, he has certainly shown that he can be a contributor for the Giants or any club going forward. A recent MLBTR poll pitting Lincecum against Ubaldo Jimenez showed that most readers would prefer the San Francisco notable over the Indians hurler this winter.
Edward Creech contributed to this post.
