The offseason isn't over, but the Giants top priorities -- signing premiere pitching -- still remains an issue, as neither Tim Lincecum nor Matt Cain has been locked down with a big-deal yet.
Here's some good news/bad news: Lincecum reportedly turned down $100 million over five years, and talks with Cain are "ongoing," according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
Yes, that's right: Lincecum turned down $100 million. That sentence probably gives you some combination of the willies and anger shivers and/or whatever it is when you're shocked, surprised a little miffed. After all, $20 million a year seems like a reasonable price to play baseball.
But Lincecum wants either a seven- or eight-year deal or a one- or two-year deal. (And can you really blame for not wanting to take a smaller number than the $126 million Barry Zito received in 2007?)
Heyman writes that Lincecum could become the first player in baseball to land a $200 million contract; he's also asked for $21.5 million in arbitration so it's possible that the Giants and Lincecum could meet in the middle and work out a two-year deal worth between $40 and $45 million.
As for Cain, Heyman writes that "there is said to be a fair amount of optimism" the Giants can lock down Cain for less than $20 million a year.
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If he makes it to free agency after the 2012 season, it's entirely possible Cain would wind up making $120 million, a la Cliff Lee. The Giants don't want that to happen ... and neither does Cain, according to Heyman.
Cain wants to be in San Francisco, and might be willing to take a team-friendly deal. That's a better place to start if you're the Giants, particularly when a new Lincecum deal feels so far away at the moment.
