Minnesota Twins are checking in on Tim Lincecum
The Minnesota Twins need pitching and they are searching under every rock in their pursuit to find it. Could they sign a former two-time Cy Young Award winner? Puckett’s Pond is here with the details.
Former San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum will hold a workout for Major League teams on Thursday. Reportedly, the Minnesota Twins will send representatives to scout the workout. If Lincecum looks good tomorrow, the Twins should consider signing him.
They missed out on Yu Darvish and have had little movement in trade talks so far this off-season and they need to make a move soon. Lincecum is far removed from his Cy Young days with the Giants, but the risk in signing him is minimal and he could still offer value for Minnesota.
However, Lincecum has started only 24 games over the last two seasons and his numbers have been terrible. He is 9-10, in those 24 starts, with a 5.81 ERA and only 92 strikeouts with 61 walks. That’s a far cry from his numbers early in his career. However, Minnesota needs every arm they can get, so offering him a Minor League deal makes sense.
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Should the Twins look into Lincecum?
If the season started today José Berrios would likely take the hill as the number one starter, and that’s a scary thought. Berrios has been a solid pitcher in MLB, but he’s not ready to lead a rotation. Phil Hughes is on the mend and will contribute to the team this season. However, it’s tough to predict what to expect from him, and injuries have plagued him during his career.
Kyle Gibson had an encouraging year in 2017 but his ERA was 5.07 so he needs to show improvement before the Twins can depend on him. The team also has up and comers Stephen Gonsalves and Adalberto Mejía possibly in the rotation mix. However, Gonsalves and Mejía are more unproven than Gibson and that won’t help the Twins make the playoffs.
Signing Lincecum would allow Gonsalves more seasoning at Triple-A. That is of course only if Lincecum shows something positive during his workout on Thursday.
He is not the top of the rotation pitcher that this team currently needs, but at this point any pitcher will help. Lincecum will likely never come close to matching his early career success again. However, with a little luck he could still help the Minnesota Twins make it back to the playoffs in 2018.
Next: Who else have the Twins been checking on?
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