Free-agent Matt Morris, who has a 101-62 record in seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, is among the starting pitchers the Giants are pursuing.
Agent Barry Axelrod said Friday he has had more than one conversation about Morris with Giants assistant general manager Ned Colletti. Friday was the first day free agents could talk dollars with any team.
"There have been talks, preliminarily," Axelrod said. "They did contact us. Ned contacted me early on and he contacted me again. We haven't gotten down to any of the nitty-gritty."
The Giants are casting a wide net for starters, so Morris is not necessarily their principal target, but he makes sense for them on several levels.
Morris is one of the few significant free-agent starters not represented by Scott Boras, he is not expected to command a gargantuan salary and he has worked well with former Cardinals catcher Mike Matheny.
"We actually talked about that," Axelrod said. "Of the many factors Matt will be considering, that would be one of the positives."
Morris was 14-10 in 2005. He had a 4.11 ERA and lost his last five decisions, but he walked just 37 batters in 31 starts and is durable, having pitched 395 innings over the past two seasons. Home runs have been an issue.
Axelrod said the Giants have asked about another client, Mark Sweeney, a free-agent first baseman and outfielder. Sweeney, a left-handed hitter, batted .294 as a reserve for San Diego in 2005.
Axelrod has had a good relationship with Colletti, who was believed to be interviewing for the Dodgers' GM opening Friday. Boras' pitching clients on the market include A.J. Burnett, Jeff Weaver, Kevin Millwood and Kenny Rogers. Free agents not represented by Boras include Esteban Loaiza and Paul Byrd.