Former National League Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum is staying in California, but he’s changing leagues and donning a new uniform. The Angels announced on Friday that they’ve signed Lincecum to a one-year, Major League contract for the remainder of the 2016 season. Lincecum, a client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, will reportedly earn a $2.5MM pro-rated base salary for his time in the Majors.
The veteran can also earn up to $1.7MM in incentives under his new deal, though he’ll have to make the rotation and stay in it for much of the rest of the season to come close to maxing them out. Lincecum can earn four separate $125K roster bonuses upon his fourth, 30th, 60th, and 90th days on the active MLB roster, according to the Associated Press (via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle; Twitter links). Days spent on the DL for a right hip injury won’t count toward the tally. The bigger chunk of Lincecum’s incentives are tied to games started. He’ll earn $25K upon his 11th start, $50K for his 13th, $100K if he makes a 15th, $200K for his 17th, and then $400K apiece if he can reach 19 and 21 starts. (For what it’s worth, that last mark looks to be out of the question unless Lincecum zips through the minors faster than expected.)
Los Angeles desperately needs solid innings with injuries running rampant throughout its staff. That dovetailed nicely with the availability of the soon-to-be 32-year-old righty, who put on a showcase about two weeks ago that drew wide attention around the league. Observers were interested to see how he looked after undergoing surgery last September to repair a hip that had seemed to further limit an already-diminished pitcher.
It remains to be seen just how much Lincecum has left in the tank, but obviously the hope is that he can at least provide a serviceable option for the Halos. Scouting reports suggested that Lincecum didn’t look like the two-time Cy Young winner of yore, but still profiled at least as a useful major league swingman. Per Eric Longenhagen, writing for ESPN.com, the one-time ace was working around the 90 mph level with his fastball, which is where he sat between 2012 and 2014.
That viewpoint on Lincecum’s stuff is certainly reflected in the price that the Angels will pay for his services, as is his recent track record. It’s tempting to see this as an upside play, but realistically it’s been quite a long time since Lincecum looked like the top-line arm he once was. Since the start of 2012, when he was coming off of what was then a typically dominant season entering his age-28 campaign, Lincecum has run up a 4.68 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 over 615 2/3 frames. Even as his walk rate has trended upward, he’s seen a year-over-year decline in strikeouts-per-nine over that four-year span.
Lincecum’s timeline remains unclear, but he’s said to have already reached 90 pitches several times in pen sessions and evidently waited to sign until he had built up his arm strength. On the one hand, that means that the Halos may not be able to hope for much gain in the velocity department, though he could still build up somewhat in live game action. On the other, it suggests that he may not require much more than a typical rehab trip through the minors.
Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported that the two sides were closing in on a Major League deal and that Lincecum would take his physical on Thursday of this week (links to Passan on Twitter). Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported that Lincecum had passed his physical and reported his base salary (Twitter links) as well as his incentives (link).
Good luck Tim. we’re rooting for you.
Good luck Tim, hope you are back to true form by late summer.
A low risk move that really only has upside. I hope for his and the Angels sake this works out.
If he does well the Giants will overpay for him to take Peavy’s spot in the offseason.
Jeff, do you or any of your luxury tax watchdogs know how close the Lincecum signing puts LAA/A to the threshold, with or without those incentives?
I don’t have a clear sense of that, no. Some of the LAA beat writers put some numbers out this spring, IIRC, but it’s complicated to compute. Presumably they aren’t over, but they must be pushing fairly close.
Hey jeff. EZPZ here. How much do ya think a timmy lincecum jersey is gonna run me?! Lol
650k below based on a 12M team benefits cost. Could be as low as 11.4M. Don’t think the costs have been determined yet.
Healthy that’s a first
Honestly shocked by the guarantee. I expected somewhere around $6-7M.
I am really surprised the Angels signed a player with a personality. This is good to see. I hope it brings a wave of change in the clubhouse, that it’s okay to be a baseball player and have personality.
Did I just read a comment by haloshane other than saying the Angels are a garbage bin?
Halos101, you are correct… I do say that often. Nice to see the Angels on win streak, unfortunately they are only as good as Trouts hot bat. Needless to say I believe this organization is still garbage. Especially the top part of it when it comes to scouting and the business end.
What on earth does that even mean? Angels players have a good time playing even when they’re struggling. One of the few teams out there where you still see smiles and having fun in the dugout even when they’re losing.
Okay Ryan…. NOT!!! Lolzzzz Lets see if you can get kicked off or should I say blocked from another Angel site because of your trolling. I love facts :))
Blocked from where exactly? I left a bunch of Angels sites like many other people have because Angels sites have turned into garbage. I used to moderate at this site and I’m surprised your comments haven’t been deleted by now. You’re the one who is stepping towards get tick kicked out of here. Not me. Nice try though.
Also agree with Krol! He brings opposing views towards the haters.
Smiling =|= personality
1000% agree with krol.
I watch about 150 Angels games a year and I absolutely agree with Krol.
Coming from a Dodgers fan I can say that I enjoyed watching Lincecum pitch over the years…it’s just too bad that herky jerky motion didn’t allow him to maintain that high level over a longer period of time…good luck pitching for my second least favorite team Big Time Timmy Jim!
I was going to say this would not push the Angels past Seattle or any team ahead of them, but remembered they just swept us so I got nothing.
Was hoping Seattle would bring him home to finish his career but doesn’t look that way. I would say good luck but he is a division rival so I can’t.
As a Rangers fan I honestly enjoy watching our entire division. I’m glad to see Tim in the division now. As for the Halo’s specifically I love Trout he’s a great young talent and fun to watch and after the injury devastation we recently suffered year before last I can completely empathize with their fans. While I do think the Angels have made some very poor player decisions they still have some solid potential in their team if they can make some smart moves and get a little production. The move here to grab Tim could very easily be one of those smart moves. I hope he shows a true return to form and keeps the Angels competitive.
Love the word choice in this article! Yore. That’s a great word.
I’m going to start using it!
We love you Tim. Go Angels
As a Giants fan for over 40 years, hoped that Timmy would have amended his choice to be a starter and shoot to close. Casilla is a vaulted member of the “Core Four” but it’s time to shuffle that up and let the new blood earn their stripes. Lopez, Romo, and Casilla mixed in with Strickland, Osich, and Law with Timmy anchoring the 9th would have been a sight to see.
Reason being that Timmy would only worry on the one inning so wouldn’t have to worry about going 6-7 innings and just let it all go in the 9th. It’s been a while since we’ve enjoyed a lights-out closer. And Timmy mixing his fastball with his gopher-killer for only 3-4 batters would definitely rival Rob Nen’s performances from years past.
Oh well, good luck to you Big Time Timmy Jim. We’ll see you at your statue ceremony outside of AT&T Park down the line.
I guess the Angels were the clearest path to the bigs and with the most need/desperation.
Maybe Jered Weaver can show him how to get by with less than stellar stuff.
Good luck to ya.
Probably not going to end well but I love unique players so I’m pulling for him. When Lincecum was drafted most scouts said his frame just wouldn’t hold up over the long run – which it didn’t – but he was way better for a few years there than anybody could have guessed. It was a nice little run and now it’s the journeyman part of his career. I hope he can put up some good results but that velo in the AL is probably a recipe for disaster.