Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants pitches against the visiting Colorado Rockies. (Photo : Getty Images/Don Feria)
Tim Lincecum has not pitched in the majors since June 27, 2015, after exiting a game against the Colorado Rockies. His former team, the San Francisco Giants, is one of the 23 teams interested in signing the free agent pitcher.
Lincecum underwent hip surgery at the hands of Dr. Marc Philippon of the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado in September 2015. He has been rehabbing ever since and was scheduled for a showcase in this year's spring training but it was moved back further into the season.
In an exclusive interview with Yahoo! Sports, the former Giants ace opened up about his injury. It was his first major injury in nine years in the MLB after being so dominant in the first five seasons of his career.
"Pretty rough, to be honest with you, because I didn't know which days were gonna be the good days and which were gonna be the bad ones. Some days my hip would bite at me. Some days it would be fine," Lincecum said.
Nonetheless, the three-time World Series champion is very excited to get back to the majors. He is happy about his recovery and feels like his curveball is back to its form.
According to Sports Illustrated, there are at least 23 teams interested in signing Lincecum and all of them will be sending. His showcase will be held on May 6, Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the Scottsdale Stadium in Arizona.
One of the 23 teams that are interested in signing Lincecum includes the Giants, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. The report noted that the two-time NL Cy Young winner prefers staying in San Francisco but the Giants only view him as a long reliever.
Lincecum wants to be a starter and some of the teams mentioned above need a player like him. He is a proven veteran, who has won three World Series championships with the Giants.
The Orioles and Padres were rumored to be very interested in the 31-year-old pitcher in the offseason. As of the moment, both teams' starting rotation has suffered from injuries.
On the other hand, the Astros are off to a horrendous start and are looking for starting pitcher. The Dodgers are in need of bullpen help, not a starter while the White Sox boasts one of the best pitching coaches in the league, Don Cooper.
Before any of these teams can offer Lincecum a contract and a spot in the rotation, he has to prove that he is healthy. He has a career record of 108-83 with 3.61 ERA and 1,704 strikeouts.
Check out the video below for some of Lincecum's career highlights.
