Giants expect offers for Cain

GM Sabean would like to keep right-hander

Chris Haft - MLB.com
The discussion over whether the Giants should trade Matt Cain already is a lively one, conducted on radio talk shows and Internet fan sites and by baseball reporters nationwide.

The issue is likely to intensify as the offseason progresses and trade rumors proliferate, beginning with next week, when Major League general managers convene for their annual meetings in Dana Point, Calif. Giants GM Brian Sabean doubtlessly will hear Cain's name whispered in his ear by covetous counterparts.

Ideally, the Giants would keep Cain to maintain their formidable tandem of 24-year-old right-handers at the top of the starting rotation. Asked during his end-of-season summary whether Cain and National League Cy Young Award candidate Tim Lincecum will be off-limits in trade talks, Sabean said, "In my mind, they are."

But Sabean expressed similar resolve last year, before he weighed trading Lincecum for Toronto outfielder Alex Rios. The Giants needed a big bat then, and they still need one now. With Lincecum having entrenched himself among baseball's top performers, speculation has shifted to Cain, who almost surely could be exchanged for a potent hitter still in his 20s.

Since GMs loathe divulging their innermost thoughts, MLB.com asked four Major League scouts about the merits of trading Cain, which until recently would have been unthinkable. Speaking under condition of anonymity, they agreed Cain's better being retained than peddled -- yet they wouldn't hesitate to trade him in the right deal.

"I certainly wouldn't want to move him unless I absolutely had to," a scout for a National League team said of Cain, whose 30-43 career record belies his 3.74 ERA. "I think he's going to get better. With continued maturity, he's going to be a dominant guy."

With his 6-foot-3, 246-pound physique, steamy fastball and stoic attitude, Cain has "big-time upside," a scout for an American League club said. "He's at the top of the list. I think he's going to be an impact pitcher."

But the consensus of scouts said Cain doesn't quite qualify for the tiny group of truly untouchable players.

"The only guys I'd say would be untouchable with anybody would be the Albert Pujolses or the Joe Mauers of the world," a scout representing an AL team said. "There aren't too many guys in our game about who you'd say, 'I can't trade him.' I think it's very closed-minded if you would say he's untouchable."

One scout pondered Oakland's eight-player deal last December with Arizona that fetched the A's six players, mostly Minor League prospects, for right-hander Dan Haren.

"That's a great analogy right there -- that's what you've got to do," the scout said. "Is Matt Cain any better than Dan Haren? I don't know. But they traded [Haren]."

One rumor already has circulated widely: Cain for Milwaukee first baseman Prince Fielder, who has hit 112 home runs in the last three seasons. The Brewers could lose both CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets to free agency and would desperately need a starter.

"Wow," one of the NL scouts said. "That would be tempting. But, to me, Fielder is a below-average defensive player. I care more about defense than most people."

Money would be a factor in this trade. Fielder's eligible for salary arbitration and could command as much as $10 million. Signing him to a multiyear deal wouldn't be cheap, either. By contrast, Cain's contract -- an economical one, which enhances his value -- will pay him $2.65 million in 2009 and $4.25 million in 2010. There's also a $6.25 million club option for 2011, although the base figure could rise nominally if Cain reaches certain performance levels.

Thus, the Brewers probably would have to send the Giants a player or two with Fielder to get Cain. One scout said: "If there's imbalance with the dollars, the other club would probably sweeten the pot a little bit."

A scout suggested that if the Giants dangled Cain for a hitter besides Fielder, they probably could obtain two prospects along with the hitter they needed. He added that one of the prospects ought to be a pitcher who is almost Major League-ready to help cushion the loss of Cain.

But, another scout said: "The problem with our game is there aren't a lot of organizations with a lot of bona fide prospects in their systems."

Yet, some do possess that depth, and chances are that they're among the two dozen clubs involved in the perennial search for starting pitching. Sabean and his assistants can expect to handle plenty of questions about Cain in the weeks ahead.

Lee, Lincecum are SN's pitchers of the year

SportingNews

Neither the Giants or Indians reached the playoffs this season, but it's not because of Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee. They are Sporting News' Pitchers of the Year, voted by a panel of 314 major league players.

In just his second season in the majors, the 24-year-old Lincecum was dominant. He was 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA and led the majors with 265 strikeouts in 227 innings.

"You don't see many guys his size throwing that hard, but it's not so much his size and deception. It's his stuff. He has 'A' stuff," Phillies second baseman Chase Utley said.

Cliff Lee tied for the major league lead with 22 wins -- he finished 22-3 -- and his 2.54 ERA was best in the American League. In 223-1/3 innings, the left-hander allowed just 34 walks and struck out 170.

"He's always had the stuff, but this year he coupled that stuff with the ability to locate and trust his pitches," Cleveland catcher Kelly Shoppach said. "He had zero fear of throwing to either side of the plate no matter who the hitter was."

The complete Sporting News MLB Awards package will be available in this week's magazine, where you also will find Sporting News' Player of the Year, Managers of the Year, Comeback Players of the Year, Rookies of the Year, Closers of the Year as well as the magazine's National League and American League all-star teams.

Giants Discussing Uggla, Konerko And Lee?

MLB Trade Rumors - Paul Moro

The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers mentions some names that the offensively-challenged San Francisco Giants are considering acquiring this off-season, specifically, Dan Uggla, Paul Konerko, and Derrek Lee. He writes:

San Francisco, desperate for a proven bat, is expected to pursue one-dimensional second baseman Dan Uggla. The Giants also may kick the tires on first baseman Paul Konerko of the White Sox and Derrek Lee of the Cubs, both of whom have full no-trade clauses. They probably would have to deal a young pitcher—Jonathan Sanchez or Matt Cain.

I understand why the Giants would want to add some bats. They averaged 3.95 runs per game in 2008, just barely ahead of San Diego who had an MLB-worst 3.93 runs/game. But I do not understand why they'd want these three guys specifically.

• Uggla is arbitration-eligible this year and you'd have to assume he's due for a pretty big raise from his current $417K salary. Despite this, Uggla will probably cost around $6MM in 2009, which is a steal in today's market. He's certainly no defensive asset, but second basemen with 30+ HR power are not exactly plentiful. But here's the issue - Uggla's going to be 29 in March, which is rather old for a first-year arbitration player. If the Giants somehow manage to get him on the cheap, then good for them. If they need to give up one of their young pitchers to do so, that would be a mistake.
• If the White Sox trade away Konerko, they'd be doing so at what could be a bargain price. The first baseman will be 33 on Opening Day and is a 10-and-5 player and as such has a full no-trade clause, not to mention the $24MM due to him over the next two years. I'm not sure how you're going to convince him to waive that no-trade without tacking on another two years to the end of that deal. And while I expect Konerko to have a decent bounce-back year in 2009, he's never going to be a 40+HR bat again. The Giants are not going to be competitive in 2009 and Paul Konerko is not going to change that.
• A similar argument can be made against the idea of getting Derrek Lee to the Bay. Also signed for two more seasons (at $13MM per), Lee's a bit older than Konerko and his power numbers have dropped quite a bit. And as Rogers mentions, the Cubs will not let Lee go without getting compensated with a Cain or Sanchez in return. Lee may have two more above-average years left in him. Cain and Sanchez is worth far more than that to a rebuilding team like the Giants.

Giants cut ties with Correia, Hennessey, Walker

Andrew Baggarly - Extra Baggs

The Giants outrighted seven players off the 40-man roster, including Tyler Walker, Kevin Correia and Brad Hennessey. All three right-handers were eligible for arbitration, but the Giants felt they weren’t worth the salaries they would have commanded.

Others outrighted: infielders Scott McClain and Ivan Ochoa, left-hander Geno Espineli and catcher Eliezer Alfonzo.

I suspect the Giants will look to re-sign McClain to a minor league contract. Espineli, too, since he apparently wasn’t claimed. But Correia, Walker and Henessey are almost certainly going elsewhere.

Also, the Padres claimed infielder Travis Denker off waivers. The Giants evidently didn’t see Denker panning out.

With Noah Lowry and Merkin Valdez coming off the 60-day disabled list, the 40-man roster stands at 33. It’ll be reduced by two more when Omar Vizquel and Rich Aurilia file for free agency after the World Series.

The Giants will use the free space to add Rule V draft-eligible players whom they wish to protect. And any free agents they sign, of course.

New owner confident Giants will soon contend

JANIE McCAULEY, AP Sports Writer
New Giants managing partner Bill Neukom wants San Francisco to be aggressive about bringing top players to town, saying he's not against the club going after a high-priced free agent this winter.

"We're not ruling that out," Neukom said Tuesday, in his first public appearance since taking over for Peter Magowan last week. "But there are financial realities."

Neukom and Larry Baer, promoted to team president as part of the restructuring, have told general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy not to think in terms of a set payroll but rather to take an outside-the-box approach when it comes to organizing the roster. San Francisco had a payroll of about $80 million last season and Sabean expected something similar for 2009.

Sabean and Bochy have been asked to present a couple of different roster possibilities featuring varying talent levels — not to mention a manual for players and others about how the organization will be run from top to bottom, down to how things will be handled in given situations, such as with two outs or with runners on base.

"The number is something of a placeholder at this point in our financial planning process. We said to Brian and to Bruce Bochy, 'Look, don't be constrained by a placeholder number for player payroll right now,'" Neukom said. "'Think of this in terms of how you're going to assemble a roster that's going to be competitive in '09 and come back to us. We may not be able to afford plan A, we may tell you that we're really at plan B or plan C.'

"We just think that's the way you run a talent business."

With the economic downturn and ticket sales already having dropped this past season, Baer doesn't envision any increases in ticket costs and perhaps even some drops. The club missed 3 million fans for the first time in the nine-year history of its waterfront ballpark.

It didn't help the Giants went 37-44 at home for their fourth straight losing campaign in their own park. San Francisco hasn't reached the playoffs since 2003, one year after getting within five outs of a World Series title against the wild-card Angels. Last year, the Giants had Barry Bonds chasing the home run record and the All-Star game.

Neukom believes by rebuilding the franchise from the bottom of the farm system up and establishing a "Giant way" of doing things at all levels, the organization will be competitive come 2009 and then a contender again soon after.

"We intend to be competitive," he said. "And after we are competitive we intend to be contending. We want to be contending as soon as possible. We want to be the sort of franchise that puts a contending Major League Baseball team on the field game in and game out, and affords its community and fan base a contending team year in and year out. And how we're going to do that is by emphasizing and investing even more in homegrown talent."

Neukom hinted that he wouldn't address the futures of Bochy and Sabean any time soon. Both will be in the final years of their contracts.

"Brian and Bruce enthusiastically have endorsed the notion that we've got so much work to do, and it's good work, that we're not going to worry about what their status is with the Giants beyond the 2009 season now," Neukom said. "We're not going to be distracted by that. We're going to focus on making sure our trajectory toward competitiveness goes up from where it was in '08 so we can have a team we can all be proud of in '09 and beyond."