SF Giants, Andres Torres agree to 1-year deal

The Giants' front office kept a seven-year winning streak intact Saturday when it cleared its last potential arbitration case, agreeing to a one-year, $2.2 million contract with center fielder Andres Torres.

All six arbitration-eligible Giants - Torres, Cody Ross, Jonathan Sanchez, Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez and Ramon Ramirez - now have signed for an aggregate $18.625 million.

That means the Giants can move into February without the distraction of an arbitration hearing, as happened with Tim Lincecum last year. He and the Giants reached a two-year deal just as a hearing in Florida was set to begin.

This is the seventh consecutive offseason the Giants settled all their arbitration cases. The last to go through a hearing was A.J. Pierzynski, who won a $3.5 million salary against the Giants' offer of $2.25 million in 2004, before he caught one pitch during his ill-fated year in San Francisco.

This year, Torres got the biggest percentage raise by far in his first year of arbitration eligibility after he earned $426,000 in his breakout 2010 season.

Including the six newly signed players, the Giants' 25-man payroll stands at roughly $115 million. Add the salaries to be paid the other 15 players on the 40-man roster, plus any bonuses due in 2011, and the final number heading into the season will be closer to $120 million.

That represents a huge spike from 2010, when final payroll was said to be a fraction less than $100 million. Without the World Series championship, the organization might not have been willing to boost salaries by 20 percent.

The only players still unsigned are those not yet eligible for arbitration, including Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner. If they do not reach deals by mid-March, the team can renew their contracts at whatever figure it chooses, subject only to the $414,000 major-league minimum. Such players ordinarily make well under $1 million. Yes, even for the rookie of the year.

Tim Lincecum earned $650,000 in 2009 after winning his first Cy Young Award the season before.