Giants interested in Yanks' Matsui

The Giants, who are desperately seeking offense, have inquired about Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui's availability. Matsui has a no-trade clause, so if there's a match there, the Yankees first would have to get his approval.

The Giants have a lot of good young pitchers whose names have come up in trades, with Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum at the top of the list, followed by Noah Lowry and Jonathan Sanchez. The Yankees, who have said they are out of the Johan Santana sweepstakes, would still like to upgrade their pitching staff.

The Giants had been talking to the Blue Jays about Alex Rios, but Toronto asked for either Cain or Lincecum, who have been called virtually untouchable by the Giants.

The Yankees are talking to other teams about pitching help and have had some talks with the Pirates about Damaso Marte and John Grabow. Marte was once a Yankee.