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Tim Lincecum is set to become a free agent five days after the World Series ends. His two-year/$40 million contract is set to expire and the former Cy Young award winner will officially hit the open market. Even though he’s fallen off in recent years, there still figures to be quite a bit of interest in the 29-year old pitcher.
According the CSNBayArea, talks between Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants haven’t really been going anywhere and the pitcher does plan to test the free agent market. However, the Giants are planning to make him a qualifying offer so that they would receive a draft pick as compensation if he does indeed sign elsewhere.
The speculation at this point is that Lincecum will have interest in signing with his hometown Seattle Mariners. But it’s truly anyone’s guess. However, if there’s a team that makes sense outside of the Giants, it’s the Mariners.
One thing is fore sure, Lincecum is not the same pitcher he was two years back. Since the 2011 season, he has a combined win-loss record of 20-29. In 2012, he posted a hefty ERA of 5.18, which was by far a career-high. But his career is far from over and his glory days could easily return. Pitchers reinvent themselves all the time and at only 29-years of age, he has plenty of seasons left to iron things out.
Perhaps a change of scenery is just what ‘The Freak’ needs?
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