UPDATE: The deal has been made official.
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UPDATE: The Giants have confirmed the deal.
#SFGiants have agreed to a 6-year deal with Johnny Cueto pending a physical.
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) December 14, 2015
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UPDATE: The Giants and Cueto have agreed to terms.
Cueto gets $130M
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 14, 2015
cueto has agreement with giants. 6-year deal.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 14, 2015
Sources: Johnny Cueto has an agreement with the Giants, pending a physical.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 14, 2015
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UPDATE: "The Giants and Cueto are talking about a deal that would easily best the $120-million, six-year deal Cueto turned down earlier from the Diamondbacks," writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. "In the deals Cueto is currently discussing with teams, he'd like have an opt-out clause, as well."
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The San Francisco Giants possess a good amount of financial flexibility after having over $50 million come off the books following the 2015 season. They'll have an additional $50 million freed up after the 2016 season, and rumors suggest they're looking to capitalize on that right now.
After signing Jeff Samardzija to a five-year, $90 million contract, the Giants are reportedly "making a strong push" for free agent starter Johnny Cueto, according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
Rosenthal adds the Giants could backload a potential contract for Cueto, which is what they did with Samardzija, to avoid having monstrous payrolls in each of the next two seasons. According to Baseball-Reference.com, the Giants' payroll could reach $152.9 million in 2016 (including guaranteed contracts, arbitrations and player/team options), $122.9 million in 2017, $141 million in 2018, $108 million in 2019 and $107 million in 2020.
Samardzija will make $10.8 million in 2016 and then earn $19.8 million from 2017-2020. The first year of his deal will help alleviate the hit to the payroll, as the Giants have to pay Matt Cain $21 million, Jake Peavy $15 million, Angel Pagan $11.25 million and Sergio Romo $9 million. Cain will be a free agent after 2017 and the rest will hit the open market after 2016.
However, figuring out a contract for Cueto could be tricky. The right-hander already rejected a six-year, $120 million offer from the Arizona Diamondbacks and the recent deals signed by David Price ($217 million), Zack Greinke ($206.5 million) and Jordan Zimmermann ($110 million) are bound to help his case in signing for more money.
ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports the Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals were "hesitant" to approach the amount of money the D-Backs offered, so it'll be interesting to see how far the Giants go in the negotiating process.
If San Fran manages to add Cueto in free agency then the rotation for 2016 will likely consist of Madison Bumgarner, Samardzija, Peavy, Cain and Cueto, with Chris Heston moving to the bullpen and probably sliding back into the rotation in the event of an injury.
Stay tuned for updates on the Giants' pursuit of Cueto.
