The Giants and right-hander Matt Cain have mutual interest in working out a long-term agreement, but aren't particularly close to an extension at the moment. Here's the latest on the talks…
- Cain told Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com that he's 'torn' about whether to sign an extension in San Francisco. “I’m definitely going to enjoy this season,” Cain said. “But you also think about going to free agency, and you might not have that chance again. So you really are torn between the two sides. It’d be hard to say it’s one way or the other.”
- Agent Rick Landrum told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that Cain's side will "never give up hope" even though a soft deadline of Opening Day exists. Both sides want to have completed negotiations by the time Spring Training ends.
- Cain and fellow Giants starter Tim Lincecum have led the Giants' rotation for years, but they're getting expensive and there's no guarantee the Giants will be able to keep them, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick explains. If Cain's negotiations were a nine-inning game, talks would be in the fifth inning, Crasnick reports.
If the giants don’t sign Cain to an extension then Cain maybe wearing blue this time next season and no not yankee blue…Dodger Blue!!
I also think the Dodgers are going to be prime time candidates next year. They are going to be looking to strengthen their rotation and Cain and Hamels sure would be enticed to pitch next to Kershaw and a team on the rise.
Would love it. Just hope he doesn’t pull a Jason Schmidt.
Testing F/A= My “Ego” needs to be fondled! Giants will offer a ton to him. If he says no, Adios!! Team means more than one player!!
Well can you fault the guy. The offense is solid at best and Tim is either getting a 3rd of the payroll or he is gone. So from a signing onto a winning franchise standpoint Cain probably needs to see some talent take steps forward and know that Tim is staying to feel like he has another shot a ring.
Nah, you can’t really blame him. If Hamels signs an extension prior, he’s the man next offseason and he’d probably be doing himself a disservice to not see what the market brings. Just listening to sports talk in the Bay Area today since this quote broke, you can hear a definite tide beginning to turn against both Lincecum and Cain though.
Cain might as well wait until the end of the season. As of right now the Giants are a solid team but the offense needs those young prospects to emerge quickly. If Belt emerges and Posey gets in a healthy season I think it would go a long way towards getting him to re-sign.
Score enough runs to get Cain and Lincecum 20 wins each and make a strong push into the playoffs and see if that softens their demands.
Soften their demands? Cain getting 20 wins would only make him more likely to hit FA because he would make a lot more money.
Agreed, for Lincecum anyways. It seems like Lincecum legitimately wants to test free agency and his contract actions and verbiage through the media make that pretty clear. A successful season of decent run support probably does nothing but drive up Lincecum’s price in SF, especially because he’s been better in opposing ballparks than he has in SF.
My point, at least for Cain, is that it seems like he genuinely wants to remain in SF and this “I’m really torn” line is a huge bargaining ploy. If he gets some run support and sees that he can succeed in SF(in a pitcher friendly ballpark where his ERA is half a run lower than away), the Giants offer might not look so bad.
I can’t see Lincecum playing anywhere away from the west coast. Cain on the other hand I can see him fitting comfortably in any division in any team.
Seems like Cain is tailor made to be in a rotation in either Atlanta or St. Louis.
Cain is the man. Stay in S.F. Cain, you will win another World Series.
6 yrs, 120
Typical negotiating & posturing still … there is interest on both sides & Cain deserves every penny. But 6+ yr contracts for pitchers tend to not work out based off the history of these deals
Doesn’t anyone remember the Dot Com/ R.E era? At some point one has to say enough is enough. How much do you pay for a starting pitching staff? 100 million dollars per year? What about the position players, especially a ball club that has a hard time scoring runs. I’d pay him the extension that Lincecum got 40 million for two years and that’s a few more bucks that most people make in a lifetime.
That logic makes sense and applies to 99.9 percent of the population. The .01 percent that it doesn’t ever seem to apply to is the arena of professional sports.
sounds like hes trying to scare the giants into giving him more money..im sure everytime they hear matt cains name and free agent in the same sentence, they shart in their pants a little.