Giants, outfielder Hunter Pence agree to five-year, $90-million deal
Giants outfielder Hunter Pence has a career-high 26 homers and 22 steals this season. (Brad Mangin/Getty Images)
The San Francisco Giants have agreed to a five-year, $90-million contract with outfielder Hunter Pence, according to multiple reports.
Pence made $13.8 million this season, his last year of arbitration, and was set to be a free agent.
The deal -- tied with Barry Bonds' 2001 free-agent deal for the second-largest the Giants have given to a position player -- is pending a physical and will likely be backloaded and include a no-trade provision, according to CSNBayArea.com's Andrew Baggerly.
CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman first reported the news.
The team has now begun talks to sign fellow free-agent-to-be Tim Lincecum, the San Francisco Chronicle's Hank Schulman is reporting.
https://twitter.com/hankschulman/status/384027509718675456
The 30-year-old Pence, who has a career-high 26 home runs and 22 stolen bases this season, was seen conducting negotiations in the Giants' clubhouse, according to Baggerly.
From CSNBayArea.com:
Just a day earlier, GM Brian Sabean described re-signing Pence as part of the “heavy lifting” that the front office wanted to complete in short order. They weren’t kidding. In a highly unorthodox scene, Pence and CEO Larry Baer engaged in direct negotiations in the clubhouse Friday night in direct presence of the media waiting to interview him.
Pence said he sensed a deal could be imminent.
“They’re about to get back to me, seriously,” he said Friday night. “So we’re either really close or really far away.”
San Francisco acquired Pence from the Phillies for two minor leaguers and veteran outfielder Nate Schierholtz at last season's trade deadline. He became the Giants' inspirational leader during their 2012 World Series run.
The former Houston Astro owns a career .285 batting average and has posted six straight 20-homer seasons.
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