Giants rumors: Hunter Pence, Tim Lincecum, Javier Lopez all claimed on waivers

All three players were thrown onto the waiver wire Saturday and quickly snagged by several teams.

The Giants could still trade any of the three if they wanted to, but Heyman hears that the winning claims were either put in by clubs looking to block a deal, or that San Francisco was never interested in actually parting with the trio. Either way, it doesn’t make a deal very likely.

If the Giants -- who are well out of the postseason hunt -- did decide to move the three impending free agents, they could free up nearly $8 million in payroll. However, for players like Lincecum and Pence, a trade would likely come at the cost of a compensation pick. It was reported at the trade deadline that the Giants plan to make qualifying offers to both players, so the asking price for the duo is probably pretty high.

Lincecum, 29, is making $22 million this season, but is no longer the perennial Cy Young candidate he once was. The Freak owns a disappointing 4.55 earned-run average in 26 starts on the year, which is actually an improvement over what he did in 2012.

Pence, 30, has had a bounce-back year in his first full season in San Francisco, batting .279/.327/.446 with 15 home runs in 131 games. Lopez, 36, is putting together his best year out of the bullpen -- albeit in limited time. The southpaw owns a 1.99 ERA and nearly a strikeout per frame in 31⅔ innings as the club’s go-to LOOGY this year.

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