Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says there are no immediate plans to discuss a long-term contract with Tim Lincecum. Schulman says a team executive said this morning that a deal does remain a possibility before Lincecum becomes arbitration eligible. Schulman writes,
"Many such long-term contracts are signed this time of year in lieu of one-year deals that teams can impose on players with less than three years of service time. The signing period for these deals is March 2-11. Noah Lowry and Matt Cain both signed four-year contracts to buy out some of their arbitration years."
Lincecum is eligible for free agency after the 2013 season and is open to signing a one-year deal and revisiting contract talks. Schulman reminds us that if he signed a deal, he would earn less but it would be guaranteed money instead of non-guaranteed through arbitration.
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News adds that neither side seems concerned and that Lincecum would be receptive to a multi-year contract, according to his agent. Baggarly writes,
"The Giants shortly will begin negotiating salaries for their ’zero-to-three’ players. They must agree to terms with them before March 11, at which point they must renew the contract of any unsigned players — and unilaterally assign any salary they please above the league minimum ($400,000). A renewal isn’t usually a happy prospect. The Giants couldn’t recall the last time they had to renew a player and Evans didn’t expect that to happen with Lincecum, who made $405,000 last year. The two sides are certain to exchange ideas on a multiyear contract. Where it goes from there is anyone’s guess."
