Tim Lincecum Agrees to Deal with the Angels
Tim Lincecum, who recently put on a clinic for teams back on May 6th to prove he was healthy, appears to be signing with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, according to ESPN’s Jim Bowden.
The deal is pending a physical.
“The Freak” hasn’t pitched in the bigs since June of last year, his final of 9 seasons with the San Fransisco Giants.
Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young Award Winner, underwent season-ending arthroscopic hip surgery early last September and spent the offseason recovering from the procedure. He decided to host a “showcase” earlier this month for the 20 teams in attendance in Scottsdale, AZ.
“I’m happy,” Lincecum said then. “I was able to throw strikes with my pitches, stay within myself, commanded all of my pitches. I only had a couple of misses and they weren’t out over the plate, so that’s encouraging for me.”
He went 7-4 with a 4.13 ERA in 15 starts last season before going on the DL because of his hips. That’s after he pitched two no-hitters in an 11-month span against San Diego, in July 2013 and June 2014.
The Angels are in dire need of a starting pitcher to add to the rotation. The incumbent ace Garrett Richards is out with a torn ligament in his throwing elbow. C.J. Wilson is recovering from surgery to have bone spurs removed from his pitching arm, and Tyler Skaggs is on the mend after Tommy John surgery. Former ace Jered Weaver has a staggering 6.10 ERA and a fastball averaging just north of 82 mph.
Whether Lincecum can succeed as a starter in the Majors following the operation remains to be seen. While in his prime, he was one of the most dominant pitchers in the game, earning back to back Cy Young Awards and helping lift the Giants to 3 World Series titles in five years.
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