The San Francisco Giants have an outstanding young rotation which features pitchers like Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Ryan Vogelsong and Tim Lincecum. The first three are set to become free agents after the 2012 season, and Lincecum the year after that.

When this happens the Giants will have to make some difficult decisions. As Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports points out, they will probably not be able to afford all of them, so trading at least one of them for an “impact bat” sounds like a good strategy.

Hoping that Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez return to their pre-injury performance level for the Giants in 2012 is a strategy the Giants can’t rely on for the off season. So Rosenthal suggests they either spend big on one of the free agents out there like Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols or Jose Reyes, or they trade one of their young starters.

If they decide to trade one of their pitchers, Lincecum appears to be the most “practical move” according to Rosenthal. He is coming off a two-year, $23 million deal and if he keeps performing like he’s been he’ll probably earn about $17 million in 2012 and north of $20 million in 2013.

With that kind of earnings before he reaches free agency he’ll have little incentive to sign a long-term deal. “He can take his chances on the market while perhaps setting a record or two in the process,” according to Rosenthal.

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