Tim Lincecum, the two time Cy Young Award winner, is going to be arbitration eligible for the first time in his career. He obviously deserves to get paid, and there really isn’t any reason for him NOT to demand boat loads of money. The Giants wanted to give him $8 million in his first year of arbitration eligibility, but Lincy’s camp wants around $13 million. We debated in an e-mail chain what the Giants should do. We had someone that isn’t a part of Doin Work crew, but is a huge fan Giants fan, and is under the name Lincy Lover.

Lincy Lover: They should give him $40 plus million, in essence buying out his arbitration, and move on.

Cali4Dre: I’m curious what the Linecum’s team countered with when they say over $40M…

Lincy Lover: It’s really a matter of what the 2 years after this one are worth, since he’s not getting a dime more than $13m this year, no matter how things shake out.

Cali4Dre: If Lincy wants 3yrs/40M, I think the G’s should offer $80M over 6 years and be done with it…  Maybe that would meet his expectations, and they could sign him long-term all at once (at a discount in the latter years)

Lincy Lover: That’s less money than Felix and Verlander got, so it’d have to be more like 6 yrs. for $90m, but I like where you’re going with his contract…

Cali4Dre: I realize it’s less money than the other contracts, but the G’s need to at least be diligent in their pursuit of the best deal possible, which it seems they are doing by going to arbitration, otherwise they would have already made a better offer…  and do we really think the Verlander/Felix contracts will have a huge say in the outcome of Lincy’s hearing?  Tough to say…

Dyslecix: Would this already be done if Zito wasn’t on the books ($90M plus over 6 years)? I’m going to say yes, the Felix and Verlander contracts have a huge impact on Lincy’s deal.

Cali4Dre: Ah, Barry Zito’s contract… The gift that keeps on giving (headaches that is) Well, based on ML experience, both have been in the league longer than Lincy, so it’s not a perfect match for the situation.  The thing that makes the difference is the CY’s (ie. multiple)

Lincy Lover: I’m guessing it would be more if Zito wasn’t in play, but yes, it becomes a no-brainer if Zito’s not in the mix. Zito’s deal is also a problem because his contract is heavily back-loaded, so as Timmy makes more, so does Barry. I don’t see it as huge for the hearing, but if those contracts (along with Zito) are a baseline for any long-term negotiations.

Dyslecix: I’ve been reading a lot more SI of late…and saw this last week… I think the main point is the market has been set by those two, and Lincy, with his two Cy Young Awards, has all of the leverage at the table. I see that being the biggest thing.

Cali4Dre: I think besides the two Cy Young Awards, maybe a major piece but not the only one, you would also have to look at years in ML (3 to 5-JV and 5-FH) and starting point of their first year.  For JV and FH, according to your article, it was only $7M in year one… He’s in arbitration year one with the Giants offering $8M and Timmy asking for $13M.

Lincy Lover: The reasoning to lock him up now is to hopefully save money down the road, when he could hit the open market and be too expensive to keep, but you’re right, they don’t really have to do anything for 3 years.

Dyslecix: If they wait, his value will only increase….He’s a super star, and will only get better. Lock him up now at whatever the cost.

Cali4Dre: Wouldn’t they just keep going back to arbitration though, with Timmy probably winning it every year?  Might as well have more certainty, and less ill will with your Star… What would it cost the Giants to just waive Zito?  I assume a lot, but not all of the money is guaranteed obviously…

Dyslecix: Interesting…I thought all of Zito’s contract was straight up guaranteed. I heard them going on and on about this a while back when he was shitting on the mound every 5 days, and were discussing waiving him. It’s been forever since I heard that though…

Lincy Lover: Right. Any long term deal is basically buying out his arbitration and pushing back his free agency, but it seems like the Giants are going to be very careful with any hearings and stick to numbers and precedent, so not sure how much ill will can build up. All money in baseball is gauranteed, and zito’s due about $83m over the next 4 years, and i think there’s even an option for another year that the giants would buy out for $7m. f-me.