Monday, March 29, 2010

Matt Cain gets contract extension

The San Francisco Giants have agreed to extensions with three pitchers: starter Matt Cain, closer Brian Wilson and set-up man Jeremy Affeldt, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.

"We have cost certainty and the fans have the comfort of knowing these guys are going to be in Giants uniforms helping us win games," said Giants general manager Brian Sabean.

Before the extension, Cain would have become a free agent in 2012. Now, he will earn $15 million that season as a Giant.

In addition, ace Tim Lincecum and Jonathan Sanchez won't become free agents until after the 2013 season.

"When you see a group of pitchers stay together like that "... it builds us all up," said Cain, per Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. "I feel we all share the leadership every time we go out there and pitch."

Cain had a career year last season posting a 14-8 record, 171 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.89.

That said, part of his success was due to (an improvement in his) luck. Cain's 2009 BABIP was .268, which was the fourth-lowest in the Majors, according to Fangraphs.com. Meanwhile, his BABIP in 2008 was .304.

Comparing 2009 to 2008, Cain actually had a worse K/9 rate (7.69 in 2008 to 7.07 in 2009) and HR/9 rate (0.79 in 2008 to 0.91 in 2009) last season.

Per MockDraftCentral.com, Cain's average draft position (ADP) is 89.17, which makes him the 20th starter off fantasy draft boards, which makes him a good value.

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