SAN FRANCISCOThe Giants do not plan to make a qualifyingoffer to any of their free agents by the 2 p.m. deadline on Friday, which means they would notreceive draft pick compensation in the event Angel Pagan or JeremyAffeldt signs with another club.
But the Giants remain interested in re-signing bothplayers -- and Marco Scutaro, too.
Only players who receive a qualifying offerdetermined by the league and union to be a one-yearsalary of 13.3 millionand sign elsewhere would garner their former club a compensatory draft pick at theend of the first round.
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The system replaces the old and very much flawed Type Aand Type B designation that the league and union had used in the past todetermine draft compensation.
Of the Giants nine free agents, only Pagan appeared to bea candidate to receive a qualifying offer. Although he might not find acontract with an average annual value of 13.3 million on the open market, hesexpected to draw multiple-year overtures from several teams and would be unlikely to accept a one-year deal.
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But Giants vice president Bobby Evans told me that none ofour players fit into that category to receive a qualifying offer. (That includes Scutaro, who couldn't have received one in any event because he was obtained in July from the Colorado Rockies, and midseason acquisitions are not eligible.)
San Francisco Giants
The decision does not indicate a lack of interest inre-signing some of their World Series heroes. In particular, the Giants willmake it a priority to re-sign Scutaro, their second baseman and NLCS MVP, who is37 years old and likely wont break the bank in spite of his fantastic secondhalf. The Giants are keen on trying to re-sign Affeldt, too,although the left-handed reliever's price just went up after the Dodgers inked right-hander BrandonLeague to a three-year, 21.3 million contract.
GM Brian Sabean has expressed interest in re-signing Paganas well, although club officials are less confident about their ability to doso. The market is expected to be the most competitive for his services after the center fielder and leadoff manhit .288.338.440 with 95 runs, 29 stolen bases and a major league leading 15triples, which also set a San Francisco-era franchise record.
Teams that sign a free agent who received a qualifying offermust forfeit their first-round pick in the June, 2013 draft, unless they hold atop-10 selection. The forfeited pick simply vanishes; the only compensatorypick awarded to the player's former team is the sandwich selectionat the end of the first round.