SAN FRANCISCO — Tim Lincecum can finally move forward from a contract situation that was unsettled all winter and focus on baseball again. Same goes for the San Francisco Giants.

Lincecum and the Giants reached a preliminary agreement yesterday on a $23 million, two-year contract ahead of the scheduled start of an arbitration hearing.

The two-time reigning NL Cy Young Award winner was set to ask for an arbitration-record $13 million salary for 2010 during a hearing yesterday in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Lincecum gets a $2 million signing bonus, $8 million this year, $13 million in 2011 and the chance to earn performance and award bonuses. The agreement is subject to a physical.

The hard-throwing pitcher his teammates call "Franchise" and "Freak" is getting a raise from his $650,000 salary last year.

Things came together yesterday morning, Giants vice president of baseball operations Bobby Evans said in a phone interview before leaving Florida. The Giants did offer Lincecum a three-year deal.

"It's a win-win for both sides," Evans said, noting nothing will be official until Lincecum passes the physical. "I had no idea. I was not expecting a settlement at all. I don't know what changed. It's always ideal to have something both agree to as opposed to a third party figuring it out. We can focus on baseball from here forward."

In addition to his salary, the 25-year-old Lincecum would earn $200,000 for pitching 225 innings, a figure he reached in each of his two full seasons. He would get $500,000 for each Cy Young Award, $250,000 for second, $100,000 for third, $75,000 for fourth and $50,000 for fifth. He also would get $100,000 each time he's an All-Star, $100,000 for NL MVP, $75,000 for World Series MVP and $50,000 for league championship series MVP.

SHORT HOPS

Brewers: Outfielder Corey Hart beat the Brewers in Milwaukee's first salary arbitration hearing in 12 years. Hart, who hit .260 with 12 homers and 48 RBIs last season, was awarded a raise from$3.25 million to $4.8 million by a panel of arbitrators yesterday instead of the Brewers' offer of $4.15 million.

Nationals: Free-agent second baseman Adam Kennedy and Washington finalized a $1.5 million, one-year contract yesterday. The 34-year-old hit .289 with 11 homers and 63 RBIs for Oakland last season, his 11th in the majors.

Orioles: Pitcher Jeremy Guthrie and Baltimore agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract that avoided arbitration. The 30-year-old right-hander receives more than four times the $650,000 he made last year, when he was 10-17 with a 5.04 ERA in 33 starts.

Rays: Outfielder B.J. Upton and the Tampa Bay Rays have gone to a salary arbitration hearing over a $300,000 difference. Upton asked for a raise from $435,000 to $3.3 million, and the Rays argued for $3 million.

Thomas retires: Frank Thomas has announced his retirement following a 19-season career in which he hit 521 homers and won two American League MVP awards with the Chicago White Sox. The Big Hurt made the announcement yesterday. Considering he didn't play last season, the news was hardly shocking.