Giants’ Extension Talks With Star Pitcher Heating Up

This winter has been a mixed bag for the San Francisco Giants. While they missed out on Aaron Judge in free agency and lost Carlos Rodon to the New York Yankees, they made a number of quality additions in Mitch Haniger, Michael Conforto, Sean Manaea and others.

The Giants may still have one more big move up their sleeve before the offseason ends, too.

Logan Webb Contract

San Francisco has reportedly engaged star pitcher Logan Webb in contract extension talks, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Neither side revealed much detail about the negotiations, however, such as terms or overall progress.

Still, it's encouraging to see the Giants at least making an effort to lock up one of their top arms. Webb has emerged as one of the best pitchers in baseball over the last two seasons, going 26-12 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 340 2/3 innings.

The 26-year-old righty is still under team control for three more seasons, so there's no rush to get anything done before the season starts. San Francisco would likely offer to buy out the rest of Webb's arbitration years and a few of his free-agent years as well with a five- or six-year extension.

Doing so could potentially save the Giants some money by preventing him from hitting the open market and keeping him atop their rotation for the foreseeable future. There's always the risk of injury, however, especially with a pitcher.

Time will tell if San Francisco is able to reach a deal with Webb before the season starts next month. The Giants are set to face the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Opening Day (March 30).