Fans of the Texas Rangers hoping to see Tim Lincecum pitch will have to wait. The two-time Cy Young Award winner expects that he’ll be out for a little while. Lincecum, who was already not expected to make the Opening Day roster, now expects that he’ll miss the first month of the season.
The culprit? A blister.
Tim Lincecum expects to miss the first month of the season due to the blister that popped up at the end of spring training. He will play catch for first time on Thursday.
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) March 28, 2018
While a blister can be a major annoyance to a pitcher, this is probably not the end of the world.
Patience was always going to be important with Lincecum. After all, he hasn’t pitched in an MLB game since 2016. Additionally, coming out of the bullpen is a new thing for Lincecum. While he has spent some time as a reliever in his career (notably in the 2012 playoffs), the overwhelming majority of Lincecum’s career has been spent as a starter.
So, rushing him to the big leagues was never going to be a good idea. Injuries are never fun. But if it gets Lincecum more time to hone his craft as a reliever and rediscover his stuff as a pitcher, in general, it may be a blessing in disguise.