THE 9 P.M. deadline for teams to offer their own free-agents arbitration came and went Tuesday and the Giants did not offer arbitration to any of their free-agents — Bengie Molina, Randy Winn, Bob Howry, Juan Uribe or Brad Penny.
In the past, this deadline was far more cut and dried. If a team didn't offer its own player arbitration by the deadline, then they could not negotiate with that player until May 1 of the following year. Now the Collective Bargaining Agreement reads differently, so, this isn't the official end of the Bengie Molina era but it's right around the corner.
Curiously enough, the Giants felt the possibility of Molina winning in arbitration, and returning for a one-year deal with a hefty raise from the $6 million he earned last year was slightly greater than the chance of him signing with a new team. Were he offered arbitration, and were he to sign elsewhere, the Giants would have received a compensatory draft pick. It was a risk-reward decision.
The Mets have been rumored to show the most interest in Molina, but apparently the Giants weren't sure that Molina would be signed and didn't want to be left holding the veteran catcher.
Coincidentally, it is worth noting that in recent days reports surfaced that the Mets would look to acquire a veteran catcher via a trade as opposed to free-agency. It's possible this was all just a well timed chess maneuver by New York GM Omar Minaya.
Molina was the only Type-A free agent the Giants had: others like Winn, Penny, Uribe and Howry were deemed Type-B free agents by the Elias Rankings. This means the Giants won't receive any compensation when, or in some cases, if they sign elsewhere.
Brian Sabean has said he would like to retain Juan Uribe and Brad Penny, but likely at a much lower figure than they would likely earn in arbitration.
In terms of pursuing free agents, names like Jermaine Dye, Johnny Damon, Orlando Hudson and Miguel Tejada have been linked to the Giants by rumors. None of them were offered arbitration by their current teams, which means they wouldn't cost their new team draft-picks.
This is a marked change in philosophy since the middle part of the decade when the Giants would look to sign free-agents in order to give up their first-round picks. It was an effort to save money on signing bonuses they would have paid to early round prospects. The prime example that comes to mind was Michael Tucker, who the Giants signed away from the Royals in 2004, just prior to a deadline that would have allowed them to sign Tucker without forfeiting the pick. Don't get too worked up, that pick didn't turn into Zack Greinke: instead the Royals selected Mathew Campbell.
Here’s a list of the Type A free agents who were offered arbitration, and would cost the Giants a first-round pick: Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Chone Figgins, John Lackey, Marco Scutaro, Rafael Betancourt.
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