The Giants are likely headed toward an arbitration hearing with their ace Tim Lincecum, as the sides remain far apart on the pitcher’s 2010 salary.

From the San Jose Mercury News:

The Giants and Lincecum exchanged salary offers two weeks ago; the Giants filed at $8 million, the highest number offered by a club to a player with less than three years of service time. Lincecum’s camp filed at $13 million, a record-setting number that many in the industry still considered low.

Industry sources said that it made sense for Thurman to file a “winnable” number if he expected the case to reach a hearing. Once at that stage, an arbiter considers the evidence, hears arguments and chooses one salary or another — with no middle ground.

I’d be shocked if an arbiter sided with the Giants at $8 million. Lincecum already has two Cy Young awards, is a two-time All-Star and the Giants finished with a winning record last season, which are all things an arbiter looks at.

The Giants have an interesting situation on their hands in regards to Lincecum’s long-term future. He has four more years of arbitration and if they wanted to, the club could go year to year and continue to pay him in the $13-20 million range (assuming his arbitration number continues to rise). Assuming he doesn’t get hurt and leaves via free agency at the end of those four years, then the Giants would have had him for four years at around $80 million.

Now, if they wanted to buy out his remaining arbitration years with a long-term contract, then the Giants will guarantee Lincecum upwards of $100 million. If he gets hurt, then they’re screwed but at least he’s locked in and they don’t have to worry about going year to year with arbitration and getting embarrassed with offers like $8 million for one of baseball’s best pitchers.

With the way he’s looked the past two seasons, I would hurry to lock Lincecum up to a four or five year deal if I were the Giants. But he’s only 25 and no matter great he’s pitched over the last two years, there’s no guarantee for future success. If his arm fails off in a year, the Giants would have made the right decision to take things year by year.

Either way, “The Franchise” is under the Giants’ control for the next four years.

Photo from fOTOGLIF