Giants general manager Brian Sabean used the terms "big splash" and "sticker shock" to describe his offseason plans Tuesday, but don't expect Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols or Jose Reyes to rescue the worst offense in the National League.

Quite the opposite, actually.

In a conference call to announce one-year contract extensions for Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy through 2013 with a club option for 2014, the Giants' top decision makers were in lockstep: They plan to earmark most of their money for their "gold standard" pitching staff, then use the remainder to improve a team that scored the fewest runs in the N.L. last season.

"There won't be any big splash," Sabean said. "Our pitching is our gold standard. We have to make sure we take care of that commodity first."

Asked about perceived second-tier free agents such as Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins, Sabean said, "It's going to be a function of what's left in the payroll and what the price point is. A sticker shock type of play, I don't anticipate it, a household name, per se.

"Anything we do has to fit at a certain price point and give us flexibility to do other things. Give us better balance. One of the things we've seen, whether it's winning the World Series (in 2010) or being banged up (in '11), depth is important and flexibility with the roster is important. We want to maintain some of that."

This isn't the first time Sabean has espoused the virtues of "spreading the wealth" throughout the roster. The Giants' payroll will go up to roughly $130 million in 2012, but those funds will get gobbled up in arbitration raises and escalating salaries to players already under contract.

Sabean made re-signing Carlos Beltran seem like a longshot, too. Although he planned to address Beltran in an internal conference call later today, he didn't disagree with the notion that an American League club (with the benefit of the designated hitter down the road) would offer Beltran a longer-term contract than the Giants were comfortable offering to a player with bad knees in his mid-30s.

"He is a consideration, but term will be an issue with anybody we pursue," Sabean said. "Whether it's him or anybody else. We have a game plan with what we consider a reasonable length."

It will be interesting to see the contract terms the Giants toss around for pitchers Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. Sabean and CEO Larry Baer have not hidden their desire to lock up both players; Cain will be a free agent after 2012, and Lincecum still has two more arbitration years before he could walk after the '13 season.

Vice president Bobby Evans, who joined Sabean, Baer and Bochy on the call, said he has exchanged ideas with Cain and Lincecum, but talks have been very broad.

Sabean made it clear that the extensions will not be his focus when he arrives at the winter meetings in Dallas on Sunday. He is looking to improve the offense via trade or free agency, with the outfield being the area most in need.

As for shortstop, Sabean said he was impressed with the strides Brandon Crawford made in the Arizona Fall League, and it will be a "spirited topic" in a conference call today and at the winter meetings whether he will be anointed the starter.

Sabean and Bochy agreed with the notion the Giants can carry Crawford's questionable bat if they get enough offensive improvement elsewhere.

"We know what his glove brings, and we know he's trying like hell to make adjustments at home plate," Sabean said. "Albeit not against major league pitching, he was very confident in what we asked him to do. He put the ball in play at the belt and below. He tried his darndest to stay off the high fastball, which has been his kryptonite."

And what of Brandon Belt, who got lost at the plate in his first major league season?

Sabean didn't make any proclamations about playing time but also gave him high marks for his performance in the Dominican winter league.

"He should be proud of his efforts," Sabean said. "Fewer kids want to take on winter ball. He saw the value in getting more at-bats and finishing off what he wasn't able to do because of the time he lost with the (wrist) injury and somewhat (because of) the lack of performance.

"I was able to watch a couple of his games on Dominican TV and video, and he made a concerted effort to make some adjustments. All the reports we got from Moises Alou (the GM of Belt's team, Escogido) were positive. This was a nice step for him. I'm happy and pleased he wanted to do this and accepted the challenge and played very well."

As for outfielder Cody Ross, there's still a chance he could return. Sabean, asked directly about Ross, answered, "Don't know."

Speaking generally, Sabean left the impression that he might not make another move to help the offense.

"I think we have developed enough choices including our young players in the mix and our arbitration-eligible players as far as the price point that's suitable," he said. "I think we've created enough food for thought and flexibility."

Sabean also said, "Health is always an issue. We hope the guys who were banged up last year come back to form and do their part and pull their weight."

If the season were to begin today, the Giants might be best aligned with (a presumably fitter) Aubrey Huff in left field and a first-base platoon of Belt and Brett Pill. Nate Schierholtz would be in right field, with newcomer Melky Cabrera in center.

As for third baseman Pablo Sandoval, Sabean and Evans said he is thinking of curtailing his visit to Venezuela in a couple of weeks. Instead of playing in 10 games, he might stay just a week. But the recent kidnapping of Washington catcher Wilson Ramos hasn't changed his thinking. It's more because he wants to maintain focus on his conditioning program with Triple Threat Performance in Arizona. A final decision hasn't been made, Evans said.

Finally, Baer said he had to wait for Major League Baseball to approve the change of ownership control from Bill Neukom before he could begin negotiations to extend Sabean's and Bochy's contracts. Once that happened Nov. 17, Baer said his first order of business was to get those deals done.

"We certainly like the results under Bruce and Brian's leadership, and we want to continue that," Baer said.

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