It's no secret the San Francisco Giants and starting pitcher Matt Cain have mutual interest in a contract extension, but what exactly are the two sides looking for in a deal? Matt Cain told Chris Haft of MLB.com he and his agents are "listening to anything that's of fair value."
On the other side of the negotiation table, Giants president and chief operating officer Larry Baer hinted to reporters the two sides aren't close to a deal. When asked if there's common ground between the two sides, Baer said "To be determined. To be determined." He later added, "Any time you're talking, it's a good thing, and we'll talk. ... It's been a lot of back-and-forth conversations."
The Giants are in a tricky situation with the 27-year-old Matt Cain, who hits free agency after the 2012 season, because of their situation with ace Tim Lincecum. While Cain is a great pitcher in his own right, the team needs to make sure there's enough money to go around for both pitchers.
If you're the Giants, do you give Matt Cain a deal of fair value and then risk the possibility of not having enough money for Tim Lincecum? Maybe the Giants won't be in that situation, but if they are, which one would you rather keep? Unfortunately for the Giants, Cain isn't looking to take a hometown discount and neither is Tim Lincecum.