Tim Lincecum (Last Major League Team- San Francisco Giants 2015)
I saved the best, and my favorite for last. “The Freak” was one of the most polarizing figures in baseball when he was in his prime. The 4 time All- Star, 3 time World Series Champion, and 2 time Cy Young winner was the best pitcher in baseball from 2009-2011 with a mid 90’s fastball and great junk to complement it, he was nearly unhittable and that showed as he no-hit the Padres twice in two years. However the coming years were not good to Lincecum, as his ERA slowly climbed and his wins started decreasing. Eventually he was let go by the Giants following the 2015 season, which saw him go 7-4 with a 4.13 ERA.
Unlike Brian Wilson, it was loss of velocity that derailed Tim Lincecum’s career. He went from maxing out at 99 in his 4 prime seasons to maxing out at 87 MPH during his last season. This showed in his strikeout numbers, which drastically decreased from the early 2010’s. Lincecum was mostly used as relief pitcher in 2015, and that is basically where the Giants have projected him out at, which led him to pursue other teams as a starter. Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) has been actively following Lincecum’s comeback and has tweeted that up to 20 teams are looking at Tim, including the Padres, and Athletics.
The best piece of news about Lincecum’s comeback so far is that he has started to throw low 90’s during flatground sessions. However, it is very bothering that he keeps pushing back his showcase event, as that coupled with multiple injuries and surgeries does not bode well for a career resurrection. Honestly, I think that even if he does come back healthy, he will be used exclusively as a relief pitcher somewhere. His whiplash motion requires too much sudden and jerky motion that I see it hard for him to consistently throw 90 over more than 3 innings. However I do think that he can come back in that role exclusively and do well.
Next: Bryce Harper or Mike Trout - who's better?
Possible Landing Spot: Like I previously stated, 20 out of 30 teams have been keeping tabs on him, but I think that it will be the Athletics or Padres that land Lincecum in the end.