Why the Cubs Should Sign Tim Lincecum

Remember the days when Tim Lincecum was considered to be one of the best pitchers in all of baseball? Those days are long gone now and the former two time Cy Young Award winner is now an almost forgotten free agent. But I am here to tell you that the Cubs should throw some money his way and bring the four time All-Star to Chicago.


Let's start off by discussing the negatives of Lincecum and why he is in the free agency position that he is currently in. Starting in 2012, Big Time Timmy Jim had a downturn that included a 5.18 ERA over 33 starts (trust me, there are no numbers I can throw out there to make his 2012 look any better than that). Ever since then, the Giants have tossed him out there between the rotation and the bullpen along with Yusmeiro Petit and Chris Heston. Heading into the 2016 season, the Giants declined to keep him around with a rotation that already reads as Bumgarner-Cueto-Cain-Samardzija-Peavy and Heston as well.

So now "The Freak" is looking for some sort of contract to redeem his career which is always still a possibility at the age of 31. That is where the Cubs come into play. Joe Maddon loves swing guys in his bullpen. Those are guys that have been starters in the past or still have the ability to be adequate Major League starters while also still being able to work as long relievers or even another role out of the bullpen. Guys such as Travis Wood, Clayton Richard, Trevor Cahill, Adam Warren, and you can even include Carl Edwards Jr. in that group.

So where would Lincecum fit into the mix in a rotation/bullpen that already has as many guys as the Cubs? A minor league deal would not really be a realistic option for Tim even with the lack of interest from teams out there. Even though he isn't exactly a hot commodity, he still would generate Major League deal interest from some lower tier teams. That being said, why not give The Freaky Franchise a one year deal? If he has a great showing throughout the rest of winter workouts and through Spring Training, then maybe he has the chance to make the team come Opening Day. If he is not able to turn himself around then the Cubs can always release him. That would be worst case scenario and would still not be on the hook for too much money.

So in an age where Cubs fans are all about tossing money around, count me in on Tim Lincecum. For the price at which he is going for, I would say why not try for him?