It’s official: Tim Lincecum signs with the Angels
Tim Lincecum throws for baseball scouts at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz., on May 6.
The Angels’ signing of former star Tim Lincecum is official. The team agreed to a one-year major league contract with the 31-year-old right-hander after he passed a physical on Thursday.
Lincecum will ramp up his throwing at the Angels’ spring-training facility in Tempe, Ariz., and then report to a minor league affiliate before he is called up to the majors. It could be about four weeks before he makes his debut with the Angels, around June 15 -- his 32nd birthday.
He has only pitched for San Francisco in his nine-year career. In his second season as a Giant, Lincecum won the National League Cy Young Award, and then repeated his accomplishment the next year, when he was still just 25 years old.
He twice more earned Cy Young votes but has not been effective for extended periods since 2011. Lincecum’s best earned-run average in the last four seasons was 4.13, in 15 starts a year ago. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his problematic left hip last September, leaving his career in doubt.
“Right now I’m kind of worried about myself a little bit,” Lincecum told reporters after the surgery. “It sounds a little selfish, but I think this is the first time I’ve ever had to deal with a major injury, so I’m trying to get my mind around that.”
The Angels agreed to pay him about $2 million for the remainder of the 2016 season, with additional incentives. MLB Network reported the value of the incentives at about $1.7 million.
Other teams were interested in Lincecum after he performed well during a scouting showcase earlier this month. San Francisco reportedly showed interest in him as a reliever, but the Angels presented an enticing combination: guaranteed money with the potential for more, a willingness to try him as a starting pitcher, and a glaring need for starting pitching.
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They have lost Garrett Richards and Andrew Heaney to significant elbow-ligament tears, and have been without the services of C.J. Wilson and Tyler Skaggs all season, although both left-handers were expected to be healthy by now. Wilson is on track to return around the same time Lincecum could be ready.
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