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If Ortiz doesn't belong in the rotation, then he doesn't belong on the roster, so why did the Giants even sign him? Considering that, the GM has to protect his investment for as long as he can. Ortiz has been relatively bad, so it's not like you can't foresee him getting booted sooner rather than later. But realistically, this is too soon. In OOTP where personalities aren't in play, it would be different.
However, Lincecum does not belong in the rotation anyway (as much as I'd like to see him there since he's on my fantasy team). The best place for Lincecum right now is long relief, in increasingly high leverage situations based on how well he does. You don't want him wasting his precious arm in AAA, that's for sure. Yet you don't want him accumulating so many innings in MLB that he has to be shut down (or risk overuse from a manager who has come to rely on him).
And unfortunately, his service time clock will start ticking, and teams have a greater incentive to delay their best players because the more they play, the sooner they reach arbitration eligibility. Teams have a bias against low-innings starters, which means they will tend to value a 25-year old pitcher who can go 220 IP with a 3.50 ERA over a 22-year-old who can go 176 IP with a 2.50 ERA. With good reason, since a pitcher with a 3.50 ERA should still win a good number of games.
For better or for worse, and in large part because of the CBA, the Giants are incented to hold Lincecum and any other young ace back.
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