As most people already know, Matt Cain is in the final year
of his contract with the San Francisco Giants and could leave the team as a
free agent at season’s end. Everyone wants to see the Giants sign him to a new
contract and the Giants certainly want to give him a new contract before the
season starts. I too, want to see the
Giants give Cain a new contract as Cain has been a valuable member of the
Giants rotation since he came into the league in 2005.
However, I do not want to see the Giants sign Cain to such a
big contract that it forces Tim Lincecum to leave the team after the 2013
season. Most people seem to think that
the Giants should focus on signing Cain this year and worry about Lincecum next
year, since Lincecum is still under contract for two more years. The problem is
that Cain’s signing has a direct impact on Lincecum’s signing. Whatever
contract Cain is given, Lincecum is going to want a bigger contract. Cain’s
contract is going to determine how much money Lincecum wants.
As good as Cain has been for the Giants, he is not the ace of
the team. Lincecum has and always will be the best pitcher on the Giants
rotation as long as he is with the team. Lincecum has won two Cy Young awards,
Cain has none. Lincecum has the same amount of career wins as Cain in fewer seasons.
He also has more strikeouts and a better ERA in his career than Cain. Lincecum knows he is a better pitcher than
Cain and he will demand more money than Cain as a result.
This is why the Giants need to be careful what kind of
contract they offer Cain. If Cain demands
being one of the highest paid pitchers in baseball, forget it. That would mean
signing Cain to a seven year contract with around 20 million dollars annually.
If a pitcher like Cain can get that kind of contract from the Giants, what do
you think Lincecum is going to expect to get? He will want an eight year deal
or even a ten year deal worth 25 million dollars annually. If the team ended up
giving Cain a contract as big as Barry Zito’s seven year deal, they certainly
wouldn’t be able to afford giving out another contract like that to Lincecum
also. If they did, they would have a small budget for the rest of their team
and couldn’t keep any of their hitters nor bring in new free agents. The Giants
are not the Yankees and they can’t spend like them.
So basically the Giants have to choose between the two
pitchers which one they want to give the ridiculous contract too. While I would
prefer neither pitcher to get a Barry Zito type of contract, if I had to choose
I would give Lincecum the ridiculous contract. If there is any pitcher in the Major
Leagues that deserves a ridiculous contract it is Lincecum. Considering how
much success Lincecum had when he was still being paid the league minimum, he
has more than earned it. Cain has been
great, but not Lincecum great. So I
would rather risk losing Cain to free agency and keep Lincecum than keeping
Cain and risk losing Lincecum.
That is why the Giants have to be careful what they offer
Cain. I would offer Cain a five year contract around 15 million a year and a
team option for a sixth year. Then Lincecum can demand for a contract around
seven years with a team option for an eighth year for 20 million a year. While
that is still a lot of money to give to two pitchers it wouldn’t be as bad as
giving Lincecum a 10 year contract. If Cain wants more than five years on his contract,
let him walk. Who knows, he might test the free agent market and find out he is
only worth five years and takes the Giants offer. If he leaves, then the Giants
have more money to give their ace pitcher and get compensation draft picks for
losing Cain. This would help the Giants in the long run. What the Giants cannot
do is set the bar so high for Cain that they give Lincecum leverage to demand a
contract never seen in Major League baseball. That would be not only bad for
the Giants but bad for baseball in general.
I dont even want to think about losing either one of those guys.. Personally I like that lincecum has been sidestepping long term contracts. It shows his confidence in.himself and in the team to make the right deal. I also think Zito could come off the books in a year or two which might just free up the money in time for our aces
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