The Giants were one of 15 teams in attendance at Tim Lincecum’s second pitching showcase and, as reported by NBC Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic, they were impressed with what they saw and didn’t deny the possibility of a reunion with their former two-time Cy Young Award-winner.
“It’s up to the competition of what clubs are bidding on him, and I can’t speak to that yet,” Evans said. “It’s early. We obviously are all rooting for Timmy. Selfishly, anything he does, we would love for it to be in a Giants uniform, but sometimes opportunities on the business side dictate otherwise. But we’re always rooting for him.”
One drastic difference between Lincecum’s first and second pitching showcases was his velocity. After the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim picked him up in 2016, Lincecum’s velocity hovered around 88.4 mph, but on Thursday the 33-year-old’s fastball was clocked in between 90-92 mph with one report claiming his high was 93 mph.
Lincecum threw 25 pitches in front of roughly 20 scouts in a showcase that lasted for 10 minutes and didn’t meet with any team representatives before or after the session. Lincecum would be a low-risk and inexpensive signing, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s been two years since his last pitch in the major leagues, and his last successful season came in 2014.
“The velo was up, the breaking ball was sharp with good depth,” Evans said. “He looked really fit and strong and prepared for a comeback. It was impressive.”
What’s left for Lincecum to decide, if his comeback journey leads him back to San Francisco, is how flexible he’ll be to fit into whatever pitching role is presented to him.
The Giants are set to have Ty Blach, Chris Stratton, Tyler Beede, and Andrew Suarez compete for the fourth and fifth spots in this year’s rotation during Spring Training. Lincecum’s fit with his former team would be as a reliever, but it was reported that he wants to be a part of a major league rotation instead of a bullpen weapon.