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Tim Lincecum

Giants Discussing Extension With Pence; No Talks Yet With Lincecum

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The Giants are in discussions with outfielder Hunter Pence regarding a contract extension, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. This indicates that the team has real intentions of inking the Beverly Hills Sports Council client before he hits free agency, says Schulman, though he adds (via Twitter) that talks have been "minimal" to date. Meanwhile, the club has yet to begin talks with fellow free agent-to-be and BHSC client Tim Lincecum, Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com reports. 

Both Pence and Lincecum were mentioned as trade deadline targets, though the team apparently decided it would be better served by making qualifying offers to the pair of pending free agents. (This year, the qualifying offer is expected to clock in at around $14MM.) At the time, ESPN's Jayson Stark also reported that the Giants were telling other teams that they intended to extend Pence.  

Pence figures to earn a raise, over multiple years, on the $13.8MM he received this year, his final season of arbitration eligibility. In a market that features few high-end power bats, the 30-year-old's career .475 slugging percentage and six-year streak of twenty-plus long balls figures to play up. The durable, righty-swinging Pence has a .289/.340/.477 line in 624 plate appearances in 2013, and has also contributed a career-best 21 steals. As Schulman notes, Pence has said he does not intend to give the Giants a hometown discount, though he has expressed interest in sticking around. Of course, San Francisco can exercise additional leverage before the qualifying offer deadline by threatening to make Pence a QO, which would attach draft-pick compensation and lower his market value.

Unlike the short-time Giant Pence, Lincecum has long been a fixture at AT&T Park. Also unlike Pence, Lincecum told Baggarly that his agent recently told him there was nothing new to report on the contract front. The twice former Cy Young winner has been better than he was in 2012, but has yet to restore his former glory (or fastball velocity). If you believe in xFIP, though, things may look different, as Lincecum's 3.53 mark is substantially better than his 4.40 ERA over his 178 innings to date in 2013. He currently ranks sixth among baseball's top 34 free agent starters, per MLBTR's Tim Dierkes. 

Lincecum, Pence, Lopez Claimed Off Waivers

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Giants stars Tim Lincecum, Hunter Pence and Javier Lopez all went on waivers Saturday and were quickly claimed by teams, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  However, someone familiar with the situation told Heyman that "none of them are going anywhere." 

While the Giants could still trade any of the players, it appears that either the claiming teams were doing so in order to block trades or the Giants weren't really interested in trading any of the three.  The Giants could save close to $8MM by dropping the pending free agents, but there's reason to believe that they were never eager to deal three players who have helped them win World Series titles.  With Lincecum and Pence, the Giants have extra incentive to keep them as they plan to extend qualifying offers and collect draft picks if they go elsewhere.    

Lincecum owns a 4.55 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 but he is seen as someone who can help teams as a reliever or starter and one rival exec is confident that he's "better than a 4.5 ERA pitcher."  The right-hander is owed $4.2MM for the remainder of the year.  Pence, who makes about $2.8MM and Lopez, who is owed just $859K until the end, were locks to be claimed.  At any rate, it appears that all three men will finish the season in San Francisco.

Rosenthal On Norris, Lincecum, Rios, Utley

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Let's take a look at the latest from FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal in this week's edition of Full Count:

  • The Diamondbacks were the runner-up among teams vying to acquire Bud Norris from the Astros. The Snakes planned to keep Norris in the rotation for the remainder of the season, then shift him to the bullpen through the end of his contract, Rosenthal says, noting the team's wealth of young starting pitching and contracts for relievers Heath Bell and J.J. Putz that will expire after 2014. However, the Orioles were able to offer Houston the superior compensation pick.
  • Tim Lincecum is pushing his free agent stock up with his recent run of strong starts, but the Giants haven't initiated contract talks yet with the hurler. An executive cited by Rosenthal pegged a potential deal for Lincecum in the three-year range with a $13MM-14MM annual salary. Though that initially appears high considering the right hander's poor performance last year and at the beginning of this one, the qualifying offer the Giants are likely to extend will probably be in the same $13MM-14MM range.
  • Though the White Sox weren't able to find a taker for Alex Rios' contract before the deadline, Nelson Cruz's suspension changed the thinking in the Rangers' front office, according to Rosenthal. Texas was previously asking for significant cash back in any trade, while the Pirates weren't even interested enough to discuss specific names, Rosenthal reports. However, the Sox will likely eventually get infielder Leury Garcia from their deal with the Rangers, which could give them the flexibility to trade either second baseman Gordon Beckham or shortstop Alexei Ramirez. 
  • The dearth of hitters reaching the open market could have made Chase Utley quite popular in free agency. Rosenthal cites the Dodgers, Athletics and Orioles as potential suitors. The two years and $27MM of guaranteed salary that Utley received from the Phillies is comparable to guarantees that David Ortiz, Torii Hunter and Carlos Beltran got in free agency, Rosenthal notes.

Giants Rumors: Javier Lopez, Pence, Lincecum

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The Giants will definitely move lefty reliever Javier Lopez, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  As for fellow impending free agents Hunter Pence and Tim Lincecum, as reported yesterday, the Giants intend to make a qualifying offer to both after the season, but are willing to listen to trade offers now.  The latest:

Earlier Updates

  • The Giants' interest in retaining Pence and Lincecum will clearly affect whether they're traded this summer.  Assistant GM Bobby Evans noted to Sherman, "You have to be realistic that if you trade a guy, you are not going to be able to re-sign him. That is what history shows."  In a general sense, Evans also said, "We will listen.  And things change as the deadline gets closer. But I don’t see anyone overwhelming us to make deals happen."

Giants To Entertain Offers For Veterans

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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.

Lincecum Has Limited No-Trade Clause; Unlikely To Be Moved

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9:45pm: Lincecum's no-trade clause is likely to be a moot point, as general manager Brian Sabean said today on KNBR radio: "I find it hard to believe we'll see Timmy in another uniform this year" (via Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle on Twitter).

Lincecum told Schulman's colleague, John Shea, that he's not worried about trade talk, especially after Sabean's comments (Twitter link).

7:06pm: Tim Lincecum has a previously unreported limited no-trade clause in his contract that would allow him to block trades to eight teams, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The Red Sox and Tigers aren't on that list, he adds, alluding to a report from earlier in the week that the Tigers have interest in acquiring "The Freak" and converting him to a reliever.

A Tigers acquisition is a "major long shot," and one NL executive called the idea of a team acquiring Lincecum and converting him into a closer "far-fetched." Heyman adds that Lincecum likely wouldn't be happy about the move anyway. He prefers to start, and because he's just over two months away from hitting the open market for the first time, a move to the bullpen may reduce his free agent value.

The 29-year-old Lincecum has a 4.26 ERA with 9.7 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 46.2 percent ground-ball rate in 116 1/3 innings this season. He's in the final season of a two-year, $40.5MM contract he signed with the Giants to avoid arbitration prior to the 2012 campaign. He's lost significant life on his fastball and seen his command worsen in that time, leading to results that look more like a fourth or fifth starter than a two-time Cy Young winner. 

Tigers, Others Interested In Lincecum As A Reliever

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Several teams, including the Tigers, have interest in acquiring Tim Lincecum from the Giants but as a relief pitcher instead of a starter, FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi reports.  Lincecum has only made one regular season relief appearance in his seven-year Major League career, but he allowed just one run over 13 relief innings during the Giants' postseason run last October.  Though Lincecum returned to the San Francisco rotation this year, Morosi notes that he may eventually be tabbed for a bullpen role in the future.

The Tigers have been looking for an answer at closer all season, and while Joaquin Benoit has pitched well in the role as of late, Lincecum could be a game-changing addition at the back of the Detroit bullpen (or, Benoit could remain as closer as Lincecum could simply be used for other important relief situations).  It would be a somewhat difficult trade to negotiate for the Tigers or any team that wished to use Lincecum out of the pen, given that the Giants would likely still be looking for a return befitting that of a solid starting pitcher. 

As Morosi writes, the Giants may want to keep Lincecum given that they're still on the outskirts of the NL West race.  The World Series champs might be loath to deal Lincecum given that they're already known to be looking for starting pitching help and recently came up short in a bid to acquire Ricky Nolasco.  On the other hand, Lincecum is a free agent this winter and is owed $10.2MM for the remainder of the 2013 season, so if the Giants decided to become sellers, moving Lincecum's salary would be a key move as the club reloads for 2014.

I wrote back in February that Lincecum's upcoming free agency made this a make or break year for the two-time Cy Young Award winner, and to this point, Lincecum has showed signs that his disappointing 2012 campaign may have been an aberration.  Lincecum has a posted a 9.71 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 over 19 starts, the best of which was a no-hitter against the Padres on Saturday.  Lincecum has been hurt by some bad luck in the form of a .312 BABIP and 67.4% strand rate — his advanced metrics (3.34 FIP, 3.25 xFIP, 3.54 SIERA) indicate that his 4.26 ERA should be lower.  As I recently noted on MLBTR's sister fantasy site Roto Authority, Lincecum was a good buy-low candidate for your fantasy league, though the no-hitter has likely upped his value.

NL Notes: Wheeler, Mets, Lincecum, Puig

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The Mets are trying to find the right spot for top prospect Zack Wheeler (#7 by MLB.com, #11 by Baseball America, and #13 by ESPN's Keith Law - Insider subscription required and recommended), to make his MLB debut and are carefully monitoring the Super Two arbitration cutoff, which they believe will come after June 8, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. Puma writes the Mets are sensitive to putting Wheeler in an optimum position to succeed in his debut with a strong preference for that to come in the series with the Cubs on June 14-16, instead of against the NL Central leading Cardinals in the previous series. The Mets front office is also wary of Wheeler, a native of Dallas, GA, making his debut against the Braves in Atlanta because of the belief the right-hander will have enough jitters pitching in the majors for the first time and won't need the added pressure of pitching in front of a large contingent from his hometown. Manager Terry Collins, meanwhile, isn't concerning himself with rumors of Wheeler's call up. "I've got enough on my plate right now," Collins told reporters including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. "I can't keep track of everybody in the organization all the time. Certainly, I know how he pitched. We all keep saying, 'He's on the way, he's on the way, he's on the way,' but he'll pitch his way here. When that time is, I have no idea." In other news coming from the National League:

  • The Mets, in the wake of being swept by the Marlins (owners of the worst record in baseball), need to contemplate whether they want to be 100-loss team with prospects gaining experience or vets annoying fans, opines ESPNNewYork's Adam Rubin on Twitter. 
  • Tim Lincecum, ranked seventh on MLBTR's 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings, told Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com he is committed to being a starting pitcher but is open to the idea of becoming a closer. "I’m always open. It’s just, right now I don’t want to be open to it," Lincecum said. "I’m sure if my career takes that turn, I’m definitely open to changes, especially if it’s beneficial to the team I’m playing for." Baggarly noted Lincecum chose his words carefully when he said "the team I’m playing for." A club source told Baggarly the Giants would turn Lincecum into a late-inning reliever "in a heartbeat," if they had another starting pitcher in the system ready to take his place in the rotation. 
  • The Dodgers are awaiting an update on Carl Crawford's left hamstring injury before deciding whether to bring up top prospect Yasiel Puig (#47 by Baseball America and #70 by MLB.com); but, it would be an upset if the outfielder isn't playing for them tomorrow, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Shaikin also noted on Twitter that Puig, owner of a .313/.383/.599 slash line this season, was not in the lineup for Double-A Chattanooga for the second consecutive game.

NL Notes: Mets, Lincecum, Cardinals, Upton

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Let's start the last weekend in April with some notes from the National League:

  • As expected, offseason acquisition Shaun Marcum has been activated to make his first start for the Mets today, the team announced via Twitter. In a corresponding move, the team optioned 26-year-old lefty Josh Edgin to the minors, where he will try to sort out his poor start to the year. The Mets hope that Marcum, who came to New York on a one-year, $4MM deal, can stabilize the back of the team's rotation. While Matt Harvey has been lights out and Jon Niese has been solid, the remaining Mets starters have combined to allow well over five earned runs per nine innings.
  • Even with the mixed results from the team's starting staff, the Mets have gotten off to a fairly promising start. Meanwhile, the Nationals and Phillies have failed to live up to expectations in the early going. While acknowledging it is a long shot, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post looks at what it would take for the Mets to seize any opening should the Nats and Phils continue to underperform. Many variables would have to break right for the Mets, says Davidoff. The club must hold things together and hope that Travis d'Arnaud and Zack Wheeler arrive mid-summer, ready to contribute. (Of course, the d'Arnaud side of this already looks unlikely given his approximately two-month injury timetable.) If that happens, the Mets will face a test of their asserted willingness to take on salary — and/or even deal young talent — to make a run at a postseason appearance.
  • In the midst of what MLBTR's Mark Polishuk calls a make or break year, Giants starter Tim Lincecum has put together two consecutive quality starts. As Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com writes, last night Lincecum struck out nine Padres over seven innings, allowing just two runs. Lincecum, who currently stands ninth in Tim Dierkes's 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings, had struggled mightily in his first three outings. While he still ranks among baseball's worst in BB/9 (5.16), Lincecum has raised his strikeout rate to 9.71 K/9.
  • The Cardinals are not currently looking outside the organization to supplement their bullpen, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. While the club waits to learn the fate of injured closer Jason Motte, it has been rewarded for handing larger roles to Edward Mujica and Joe Kelly. GM John Mozeliak says that, while he is open to looking at the trade market, "that would not be in the near future."
  • Morosi also addressed the subject of Braves outfielder Justin Upton, wondering why exactly the Diamondbacks decided to trade him. While Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick publicly called Upton "an enigma," and manager Kirk Gibson purportedly did not see eye-to-eye with the young slugger, Morosi says there was no single moment that apparently caused a rift. In case you missed it, Upton is off to something of a solid start for his new ballclub.

NL West Links: Quentin, Weiss, Upton, Giants

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Everyone knows Jackie Robinson's story but few remember the name of John Wright, the second African-American player to sign with the Dodgers just weeks after Robinson signed his contract.  Baseball America's Ryan Whirty details the brief career of Wright, a right-hander who struggled in the minors in 1946 and was back pitching in the Negro Leagues by 1947.

Here's the latest from the NL West…

  • Major League Baseball has announced the suspensions of Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin for eight games and Dodgers utilityman Jerry Hairston for one game for their parts in Thursday's brawl between the two teams.  Both men are appealing their suspensions, so both could be able to play when the Padres and Dodgers begin a three-game series on Monday, though Yahoo's Jeff Passan (Twitter link) feels MLB and the MLBPA will arrange for Quentin to miss Monday's game.
  • Zack Greinke, meanwhile, will be out of action for around eight weeks following surgery to fix his broken collarbone.  MLBTR's Steve Adams looked at the implications of Greinke's injury earlier today.
  • Rockies owner Dick Monfort talks to Mark Kiszla over the Denver Post about manager Walt Weiss' unusual one-year contract with the club.  Monfort admits the short-term deal was an "oversight" since he values loyalty in employees and usually operates on handshake agreements, and also said that the Rockies management team hired Weiss without first establishing his salary.
  • Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall told Arizona Sports 620 Radio's Doug & Wolf that he felt the Justin Upton trade has worked out for both the D'Backs and Braves.  "I would agree that ‘would he have had the same success here that he's had [in Atlanta] to start off the season, maybe not' sometimes players need a change of scenery for it to happen," Hall said.  "I mean this was just two different teams that had two different needs and it worked out well for both, not to mention we still have four prospects that we're going to be dealing with in the next few years."
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic doesn't agree with Hall's belief that Upton needed a fresh start.  "But even if [Upton] did need a new environment, what happened to the environment here? What does that say about the environment you’re creating if a 25-year-old with his kind of ability can’t succeed in it anymore?" Piecoro asks.
  • While breaking down Tim Lincecum's struggles, Grantland's Jonah Keri noted that the success of the Giants' starting rotation has obscured the team's lack of pitching depth.  The Giants may need to explore a trade for a new starter later this season if Lincecum can't turn things around.  I tabbed 2013 as a Make Or Break Season for Lincecum since he'll need to regain his old form in order to fetch a nice free agent contract this winter.
  • In other NL West news from earlier today, I compiled a set of Padres notes while Steve Adams reviewed the Giants' offseason moves.
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