When former San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum announced that he was attempting to make a Major League comeback earlier this offseason, a lot of teams showed interest in the right-hander as more than a dozen of them attended his showcase.
Lincecum’s velocity was reported to be between 90 and 93 MPH, which is considerably higher than the high 80s he was throwing when he last pitched in the big leagues in 2016 with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Among the teams that reportedly were in strong pursuit of signing Lincecum were the Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers, who are believed to have been the few teams to make Lincecum a Major League offer.
It appears Lincecum has decided against joining the Giants’ longtime rival, and instead has agreed to terms with the Rangers, according to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball:
source: lincecum will go to texas
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 27, 2018
Lincecum has experience as both a starter and reliever, so while it is unknown how the Rangers plan to use him it will most likely be out of the bullpen. Texas is currently without a closer in place, so Lincecum could perhaps compete for that job this spring.
In 10 Major League seasons, Lincecum is 110-89 with a 3.74 ERA, 3.45 FIP and 1.29 WHIP. He was named an All-Star four times with the Giants from 2008-2011, and won back-to-back National League Cy Young Awards from 2008-09.
The fact that the Dodgers showed significant interest in Lincecum shows that they may still be looking to add another pitcher to the mix this spring.
It will be interesting to see if they wind up making a Major League signing or if they continue to hand out Minor League pacts and stick with the Major League options they already have in place.
