Los Angeles Angels

MLB: Tim Lincecum Not Ready to Retire, Move to the Bullpen

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:50 p.m. ET

Fansided, Tim Boyle/FanSided via Call to the Pen

Tim Lincecum remains hopeful that he can pitch in the 2017 MLB season. He also remains confident that his next job will be as a starting pitcher.

Retirement doesn’t appear to be an option for pitcher Tim Lincecum right now. A move to the bullpen also seems out of the question. When he returns to baseball, Lincecum plans to do it his way.

The 33-year-old right-handed pitcher has no plans on giving up his MLB dream. He also will not willingly seek a lesser role as a relief pitcher. Although interest is very low this offseason—even compared to the apathy teams had last year—the man many came to affectionately call “The Freak” remains hopeful that he can land a job somewhere as a starting pitcher.

Not long ago, Lincecum struck fear into opposing batters. He won consecutive Cy Young Awards in 2008 and 2009 in what were only his sophomore and junior years in the big leagues. The success was amazingly short-lived. He was an All-Star and Cy Young winner or candidate each season with impressive numbers up until 2012 when it all seemed to fall apart.

Something happened to Lincecum in 2012. In what should have been his peak at age 28, the San Francisco Giants hurler saw his talents spin out of control. He never fully rebounded from it either. His ERA suffered the most as it would never against finish the year below 4.00.

Lincecum would go 41-48 with a 4.94 ERA in the next five seasons. These numbers are bad, but not the primary source as to why it’s going to be tough to find work in 2017. The real cause comes from what he did with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Last year, Lincecum was coming off hip surgery. This cast a lot of doubt on what he had to offer going forward. He had to pitch in front of scouts to showcase how healthy he was just to win a big league job. For a guy with two Cy Young Awards less than a decade ago it’s quite unprecedented to beg this way.

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Lincecum did eventually ink a one-year deal with the Angels in late May. Once the playoffs looked out of reach, they allowed him to make nine starts. Lincecum was brutal in many of them. He ended his time there with a 2-6 record and 9.16 ERA.

If willing, Lincecum might be able to earn himself a job somewhere as a relief pitcher. After all, teams are searching for long men in the bullpen to become the next Andrew Miller. Lincecum would seem to have the pedigree for this in certain areas. His arm is stretched out enough to start so pitching three innings in relief two or three times a week would be very possible.

Unfortunately, Lincecum wants to start. This will greatly limit his options for the 2017 season. Most teams already have their starting rotations set for the year. As for the rest, they are probably hoping to get someone with far fewer question marks onto their roster.

Assuming that Lincecum holds his ground, his only hope might be to sign a minor league deal with a bad team. By doing this he can hold out hope that he gets what he wants. If he can pitch well enough on the farm, Lincecum may earn a chance to join the big league rotation. Other than this scenario, it’s looking like Lincecum is going to need to be less adamant if he wants to land any job in MLB.