The 2016 season is over for two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. The Los Angeles Angels announced Wednesday that Lincecum will not be called up with any September roster expansion.
The #Angels decide that Tim Lincecum won't be called back up to big leagues, ending his comeback season. He had 9.16 ERA in nine #MLB starts
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 7, 2016
There’s nothing to be surprised at here.
Lincecum’s numbers in 2016 have been abysmal. He began strong, throwing a quality start in his first outing of the season. After that, it was all downhill for the two-time Cy Young Award winner. He didn’t throw another quality start and only went beyond five innings once.
On top of that, the Angels are not a contending team and Lincecum is not under contract with them beyond the 2016 season. At 32, it’s very unlikely that Lincecum was ever in the long-term plans of the franchise.
Now, the question is simple. Is Lincecum’s career over? It certainly seems possible, if not probable.
One thing that Lincecum hasn’t ever done is pitch out of the bullpen consistently. A slew of pitchers — highlighted by Wade Davis — have done that recently, revitalizing their careers after flaming out as starters.
If Lincecum is going to have a career in the majors again, it will likely have be as a reliever. At this point, it’s fairly clear that his time as a starter is over.