After a wild few weeks of speculation, ‘The Freak’ is headed back to California. Tim Lincecum is reportedly close to signing with the Los Angeles Angels. While details of the contract haven’t been released, it’s widely assumed to be a one-year deal that will allow Lincecum to hit the open market again next season. Jon Heyman and Jeff Passan had it first.
sources: 2-time cy young winner tim lincecum is leaning toward the angels. could happen today.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 16, 2016
Once it's finalized, Tim Lincecum's contract with the Angels will be a major league deal. Guaranteed dollars still unclear at this point.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 16, 2016
After hosting a showcase on Friday May 6th that was apparently attended by more than 20 teams, Lincecum was most recently linked to the Angels, Giants and White Sox. While Lincecum has always preferred to stay in San Francisco, he was also seeking a guaranteed rotation spot. With the Angels recently losing Garrett Richards to surgery, and Andrew Heaney having trouble with his elbow the chance is there for Lincecum to log consistent innings in the Angels’ rotation.
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How Lincecum fares against the American League is going to be interesting, as he apparently had his fastball back up to 91 during the showcase with hard break on his curveball. The diminutive right-hander hasn’t fared extremely well against the AL in the past, carrying a 4.10 ERA through 29 games, compared to a 3.61 mark overall.
A return to form would be a wonderful comeback story for the 31-year old, as Lincecum once had one of the most promising young careers in the MLB. After winning his second Cy Young at 25, Lincecum had a record of 40-17 with a 2.90 ERA and looked like he was destined for the Hall of Fame. The concerns with his delivery and small frame proved true though, as his velocity took a sharp downward turn the last few years, and he couldn’t stay healthy.
A key member of three World Series’ winning Giants teams, Lincecum will join a club that’s just trying to put the pieces back together after suffering a ton of injuries thus far. He’ll join Brendan Ryan and Jhoulys Chacin as the newest members of the club looking to cash in on Mike Trout‘s prime years. They’re in tough against the rest of the AL West, trailing the Rangers by 5.5 games and sitting at 16-21 overall.