Matt Cain's contract status threatened to become a major distraction for the San Francisco Giants through the upcoming season. But the Giants took care of that by meeting Cain's Opening Day deadline and signing him to a new six-year, $127.5 million deal that could be worth up to $141 million. 

Starting pitching has been the bedrock of the Giants' recent success and letting Cain hit free agency would've allowed some cracks to develop in that foundation. Fears of him potentially landing with their fierce division rival and now presumably cash-flooded Los Angeles Dodgers had the fanbase in a frenzy over the past week. Those worries have obviously now been squashed beneath a big pile of cash.

Cain's new contract is the largest ever given to a right-handed pitcher in baseball history (lefties CC Sabathia and Johan Santana both signed richer deals.) Now that he's set the bar, might one of his teammates eventually jump over it?

Tim Lincecum signed a two-year, $40.2 million deal in late January. The contract bought out his final two years of arbitration but still allows him to become a free agent after the 2013 season.

And Lincecum most certainly has his eye on free agency. He may say that he prefers shorter-term deals, as he told the San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Schulman after signing his contract. But it can't be a coincidence that this latest deal runs up to the year he's eligible to hit the open market. 

Cain's new contract almost immediately raised the natural follow-up question: if he's worth nearly $130 million, what kind of money is in store for the more accomplished Lincecum? Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News threw $200 million over eight years as a possibility.

That hardly seems far-fetched, as Pavlovic writes that Lincecum reportedly prefers an eight-year deal. And a $25 million annual salary would be more than the $22.5 million per season that Cain will earn in the near future. 

The Giants surely want to see if Lincecum can stay healthy enough over the next two seasons to warrant a longer-term deal. CSNBayArea.com's Andrew Baggarly raised some eyebrows when he reported that Lincecum didn't throw his slider during spring training and intended to keep the pitch out of his arsenal during the first few weeks of the regular season. 

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said the idea is for Lincecum to pace himself through the long season, rather than wear out his elbow early in the year with demanding sliders. That sounds like a good strategy, especially if Lincecum can be effective initially without using his best pitch. 

But a more cautious approach with Lincecum calls into question whether he can make it through a very long-term contract. What kind of pitcher might he be in his mid-30s? 

In the meantime, it seems entirely possible that another pitcher might beat Lincecum to a $200 million contract. In light of Cain's contract, what could Cole Hamels or Zack Greinke get if they reach free agency after this season? Could either of them become the first pitcher to crack $200 million, joining Joey Votto, Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder and Alex Rodriguez?