Sabean: ‘There won't be a big splash'

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The Giants will not go after big-name free agents like Jose Reyes, Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, according to GM Brian Sabean.

On a conference call with reporters following the announcement of extensions for the Giants' GM and manager Bruce Bochy, Sabean said that San Francisco will not pursue the aforementioned 'Big Three' players of the 2012 free agent class.

"There won't be a big splash," Sabean said. "We are in concert with team president and incoming CEO Larry Baer and our partnership that our pitching is our gold standard. Whatever we attempt we have to make sure we take care of that commodity first."

While Sabean said that talks with two of his biggest commodities -- Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain -- are in progress, he offered no significant details about the negotiations.

"We've had an exchange of ideas and some conversations about numbers but with so many other things going on timing has not advanced very far down the road," vice president of baseball operations Bobby Evans said.

The one big free agent bat the Giants may still go after is midseason acquisition Carlos Beltran. Sabean sent top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler to the New York Mets for Beltran, who is now reportedly receiving interest from American League teams that can offer him more years with the security of the designated hitter rule.

While Sabean expressed interest in retaining Beltran's services, he also made it clear that the Giants have to be careful with long-term contract offers.

"The best way to phrase it is, he is a consideration but terms will be an issue with anybody we pursue," Sabean said. "Whether its Beltran or anybody else, we have a very definitive game plan on each conversation on what we think is a reasonable length.

If the Giants don't bring back Beltran, Sabean and Bochy both made it clear that they expect a marked improvement from a historically bad offensive output in 2011. The reason for those expectations surround the return of Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez and the assumption that Aubrey Huff will bounce back from his disappointing second season in San Francisco.

Sabean also acknowledged that the limited options available for the Giants in free agency means the team will have to lean more on its homegrown talent for help.

"Our priority is more offense," Sabean said. "In finding more offense we have to explore more options within, give due consideration to our players here first, our younger players, see whether they're ready to take over."
Rael Enteen is a web producer with Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. Follow him on Twitter @RaelEnteenCSN

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