SAN FRANCISCO — Two-time NL Cy Young award winner Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants reached a verbal agreement Tuesday on a two-year contract worth US$40.5 million.
The deal includes a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $18 million this year and $22 million in 2013, according to a source requesting anonymity. Lincecum still must take a physical, which the Giants hope will happen early next week to complete the deal.
Lincecum had asked for a near-record $21.5 million in salary arbitration and had been offered $17 million by the club. He remains eligible for free agency following the 2013 season.
The 27-year-old right-hander, the winning pitcher in the Game 5 World Series clincher at Texas in 2010, earned $13.1 million last season when he finished a two-year deal worth $23.2 million.
When the sides exchanged numbers last Tuesday, Lincecum’s request neared the record amount sought in arbitration. Houston pitcher Roger Clemens asked for $22 million in 2005.