Giants looking to land Finley
By Andrew Baggarly - STAFF WRITER
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants plan to sign Steve Finley to a contract this week or abandon the pursuit entirely.
Giants GM Brian Sabean said he prefers to complete all free-agent negotiations before the winter meetings begin Friday in Anaheim; Finley remains the team's top target, and the Giants appear to represent the best fit for the Gold Glove center fielder.
But the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday reportedly offered Finley a two-year contract worth $16 million -- a figure the Giants would not be expected to match.
"It comes down to what we want and how the player folds into the overall scheme of things," Sabean said. "I do know he has interest. We've pursued him as much as any player we possibly could in recent note. We hope it comes to a head in the next day or so."
And if it doesn't?
"We'll go on with Plan B, which is either another free agent possibility, or we'll jump into the trade market more extensively," Sabean said.
The Los Angeles Dodgers stepped out of the running when they declined to offer arbitration to Finley before Tuesday night's deadline. Sources say the Anaheim Angels remain in serious pursuit of Finley, who hit .271 with 36 home runs and 94 RBIs last year. Finley hit the grand slam on Oct. 2 that clinched the NL West for the Dodgers. It came off Giants left-hander Wayne Franklin.
The Giants would like to play Finley in center field and go with a platoon of Marquis Grissom and Michael Tucker in right. If Finley goes elsewhere, the Giants could keep Grissom in center and consider free agents Jermaine Dye and Moises Alou. The club might be more apt to pursue another center fielder in a trade.
"I'd like to think we'll know where we are at with the free-agent market before Anaheim," Sabean said. "You don't necessarily want to go down there having to do business with agents. I'd rather focus on trades. We've got a half-dozen possibilities on that front."
NEN, HERMANSON DECLINED: The Giants offered arbitration to left-hander Jason Christiansen and declined to make an offer to right-handers Robb Nen, Dustin Hermanson and Dave Burba and outfielder Ricky Ledee.
Players offered arbitration have until Dec. 19 to accept the offers and can re-sign through Jan. 8. Players not offered arbitration cannot re-sign a major league contract with their former teams until May 1.
The Giants still could sign Nen to a minor-league deal, though he could not appear in the majors before May 1. The Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs reportedly have shown some interest in Nen, who plans to ascend a mound later this month to test his surgically repaired shoulder. He hasn't thrown a competitive pitch since the 2002 World Series.
Giants trainer Stan Conte has kept in touch with Nen this winter. Conte said he still considers Nen's return an extreme longshot.
By declining arbitration to Hermanson, the Giants would receive no compensatory draft picks from any team that would sign him.
ONE-HOPPERS: The next deadline is Dec. 20, when teams must tender contracts to all players on the 40-man rosters -- including arbitration-eligible players like catcher A.J. Pierzynski. Giants assistant GM Ned Colletti said he had spoken to Pierzynski's agent, Steve Hillyer, several times over the past weeks, but nothing was imminent. The Giants figure to sign Pierzynski to a multiyear contract or cut ties with him, either in a trade or as a non-tendered free agent. ... Sabean said he had not spoken with Barry Bonds over the past few weeks. Sabean said his expectations for Bonds' performance in 2005 were not changed by reports of Bonds' grand jury testimony in the BALCO case.
By Andrew Baggarly - STAFF WRITER
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants plan to sign Steve Finley to a contract this week or abandon the pursuit entirely.
Giants GM Brian Sabean said he prefers to complete all free-agent negotiations before the winter meetings begin Friday in Anaheim; Finley remains the team's top target, and the Giants appear to represent the best fit for the Gold Glove center fielder.
But the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday reportedly offered Finley a two-year contract worth $16 million -- a figure the Giants would not be expected to match.
"It comes down to what we want and how the player folds into the overall scheme of things," Sabean said. "I do know he has interest. We've pursued him as much as any player we possibly could in recent note. We hope it comes to a head in the next day or so."
And if it doesn't?
"We'll go on with Plan B, which is either another free agent possibility, or we'll jump into the trade market more extensively," Sabean said.
The Los Angeles Dodgers stepped out of the running when they declined to offer arbitration to Finley before Tuesday night's deadline. Sources say the Anaheim Angels remain in serious pursuit of Finley, who hit .271 with 36 home runs and 94 RBIs last year. Finley hit the grand slam on Oct. 2 that clinched the NL West for the Dodgers. It came off Giants left-hander Wayne Franklin.
The Giants would like to play Finley in center field and go with a platoon of Marquis Grissom and Michael Tucker in right. If Finley goes elsewhere, the Giants could keep Grissom in center and consider free agents Jermaine Dye and Moises Alou. The club might be more apt to pursue another center fielder in a trade.
"I'd like to think we'll know where we are at with the free-agent market before Anaheim," Sabean said. "You don't necessarily want to go down there having to do business with agents. I'd rather focus on trades. We've got a half-dozen possibilities on that front."
NEN, HERMANSON DECLINED: The Giants offered arbitration to left-hander Jason Christiansen and declined to make an offer to right-handers Robb Nen, Dustin Hermanson and Dave Burba and outfielder Ricky Ledee.
Players offered arbitration have until Dec. 19 to accept the offers and can re-sign through Jan. 8. Players not offered arbitration cannot re-sign a major league contract with their former teams until May 1.
The Giants still could sign Nen to a minor-league deal, though he could not appear in the majors before May 1. The Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs reportedly have shown some interest in Nen, who plans to ascend a mound later this month to test his surgically repaired shoulder. He hasn't thrown a competitive pitch since the 2002 World Series.
Giants trainer Stan Conte has kept in touch with Nen this winter. Conte said he still considers Nen's return an extreme longshot.
By declining arbitration to Hermanson, the Giants would receive no compensatory draft picks from any team that would sign him.
ONE-HOPPERS: The next deadline is Dec. 20, when teams must tender contracts to all players on the 40-man rosters -- including arbitration-eligible players like catcher A.J. Pierzynski. Giants assistant GM Ned Colletti said he had spoken to Pierzynski's agent, Steve Hillyer, several times over the past weeks, but nothing was imminent. The Giants figure to sign Pierzynski to a multiyear contract or cut ties with him, either in a trade or as a non-tendered free agent. ... Sabean said he had not spoken with Barry Bonds over the past few weeks. Sabean said his expectations for Bonds' performance in 2005 were not changed by reports of Bonds' grand jury testimony in the BALCO case.
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