The Freak is back.
Right-handed veteran pitcher Tim Lincecum has agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Angels on a one-year major league contract, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN. The deal is pending a physical.
The deal between the 31-year-old and the Angels was reported close by Jon Heyman of MLB Network, who said the agreement "could happen today."
Lincecum was smart to sign with the Angels because of the problems with injuries to pitchers on that team. Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney, C.J. Wilson, and Huston Street are all dealing with injuries. Those injuries will allow Lincecum to take the fourth or fifth spot in the rotation, which would bump Matt Shoemaker or Jhoulys Chacin to Triple-A Salt Lake.
It would make sense that the Angels send Lincecum to Triple-A Salt Lake for one start to get him ready to make his big league return. It would be his first professional game since the 2015 season.
Lincecum exited a game on June 27, 2015, after taking a line drive off his arm. The righty was had troubles with his forearm, but then his hips gave him trouble and he never made it back to full health.
Lincecum won the National League Cy Young Award in 2008 and 2009, made four All-Star Game appearances and helped the San Francisco Giants win three World Series championships in five years.
On May 1, 2016, he held a showcase for interested teams in Scottsdale, Arizona. Apparently, almost all teams were interested and at the showcase.
"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."
It was cut down to starting for the Chicago White Sox and the Angels or pitching out of the bullpen for the Giants. Lincecum decided he wanted to pitch in the rotation on the West Coast for Los Angeles.
The one-year deal is outstanding for the pitcher because it will give Lincecum the ability to test the open market after he finishes the 2016 season with the Angels.