Lincecum, Giants make 2-year, $23M deal
Tim Lincecum(notes) and the San Francisco Giants agreed Friday morning to a two-year, $23 million contract, according to sources, with the 11th-hour deal being struck after a salary arbitration hearing in Tampa was first delayed and then canceled.
Lincecum who had requested a 2010 salary of $13 million – a record for a player in his first year of arbitration – will get a $2 million signing bonus, make $8 million in salary this season and $13 million the next. The Giants had filed at $8 million, creating a record-setting difference they were disinclined to bridge in a one-year contract.
Since his debut in May 2007, Lincecum is 40-17 with a 2.90 ERA. In his Cy Young Award seasons of 2008 and 2009, he was 33-12. At 25, the whippet-like Lincecum has led the National League in strikeouts twice, in complete games once, and twice has thrown at least 225 innings.
The record salary for a player first-time arbitration eligible is Ryan Howard's(notes) $10 million in 2008. For a first-eligible pitcher, Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon(notes) earned $6.25 million in 2009.
