SF Giants Free Agency: 5 Things They Can Spend Money on Other Than Jimmy Rollins

Worth the Price? Maybe...
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Jimmy Rollins has been a mainstay in Philadelphia for over a decade, winning three Gold Glove awards and an NL MVP in the process. Now entering free agency, Rollins is poised to enter what might be his last significant contract.

The San Francisco Giants desperately need offensive upgrades to bolster their chances of winning the National League West. With the Philadelphia Phillies’ seemingly bottomless checkbook and San Francisco’s historically “tightwad” ownership, however, it seems as though signing Jimmy Rollins may be impossible for the Giants.

But never fear! Here are five better things that the Giants can spend money on besides Jimmy Rollins. After all, he is an aging shortstop, and one need only look to last season to see how the last two “aging shortstops” Brian Sabean signed panned out. 

1: Extend Tim Lincecum

Living a Lie, Timmy!
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Signing Tim Lincecum to a contract extension should be a priority. Fortunately, it seems as though Brian Sabean and Giants ownerships agree.

The trouble has come from the Lincecum camp; MLB.com reported that the matter was likely to head to arbitration. Even so, signing Lincecum to an extension would be wiser than investing in Jimmy Rollins.

2: Sign Matt Cain

How's My Breath Smell?
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Matt Cain enters free agency at the end of next season. Wouldn’t it be smart of the San Francisco Giants to purchase at least three years of Matt Cain’s free agency? Given that he stands to make $15-$18 million per year, for a small raise San Francisco could lock in Cain to a multi-year deal. This is much more important than signing Jimmy Rollins.

3. Re-Sign Carlos Beltran

Like My Watch?
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Many critics of Carlos Beltran point to his age, history of injury, and surly demeanor as reasons to avoid signing him. Those critics might be wise to examine Beltran’s 2011 statistics.

When he did suit up for the Giants, he posted excellent numbers. Were Beltran to re-sign with the Giants, the batting order would be extremely formidable. For slightly more than Jimmy Rollins, the Giants could lock up a slugger with more impressive offensive credentials. 

4. New Cars for Ownership/Management

Sabean. Brian Sabean.

To be honest, there really are not many more prospects available that the Giants could reasonably afford that would actually be better than Jimmy Rollins. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain should be priorities on the pitching side of the roster. On the offensive side, the Giants would be hard pressed to find a realistic move outside of re-signing Carlos Beltran that would return comparable dividends.

So, if ownership does not want to sign Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols (or, despite record attendance and merchandise sales, “can’t afford to”), said ownership group might want to make their true intentions evident and purchase themselves a fleet of Aston Martins. 

5. Hire the Man with the Golden Gun

$1MM per Hit...Cheaper than DeRosa

Barry Zito stands to make extraordinary money next season, despite performing at levels well below replacement. What would Christopher Lee do at a time like this? 

I kid, of course. I wish no harm to anybody, least of all players whom I (once) held in high esteem. That being said, Barry Zito is an albatross. It might be wise to invest some of the “Jimmy Rollins Fund” into 2013 and take it off this season’s payroll. This would give the Giants the ability to dampen Zito’s financial leeching next season.