Former Giants ace Tim Lincecum is still a free agent. It's early March and he still hasn't thrown his long-anticipated showcase for teams, which originally planned for January.
But that showcase should be coming soon with the hope of pitching for a team this season, according to Lincecum's agent Rick Thurman.
In an interview Monday on 95.7 The Game, Thurmun discussed Lincecum's offseason surgery, his rehab process, rumors of interest from the Padres and whether the Giants have expressed any interest.
"(Lincecum) had surgery in late August. He's been rehabbing from that. He actually spent all his time over the offseason down in Scottsdale where the weather is warm. He's got a private trainer with him 24/7 working on his hip and getting back on the field. He has done very well through his rehab. It was the left hip. He had a slight tear in his labrum in his left hip and an impingment. And they went in there and cleaned that out. It was causing him to have a lack of stability on his front hip, which is what you land on, so he was opening up quite a bit the last few years. It just kept getting worse and worse, and that was a big cause for his decline in velocity," Thurman said.
So what has Lincecum's been doing to get ready for the showcase? And has a date been set for the showcase?
"He's pitching and throwing every other day off of a mound in Scottsdale and Tempe area. And the days he's not throwing off a mound, he's throwing long toss. He's just building back his arm strength. He's literally doing pretty much everything all the other guys in spring training are doing, just not pitching in games. But he is building up his pitch count so by the time we end up actually having a showcase down the road he will be game-ready. The way he's preparing now, so his career can continue on and maybe get six, seven, eight more years. But with that in focus, he really wants to get ready for the season. And then we'll have the showcase. The showcase should be sometime soon, but I don't have a specific date yet. But should be soon," Thurman said.
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The Padres have rumored to have interest in Lincecum, and in late February, Thurman was quoted in The San Diego Union-Tribune saying that he has talked with San Diego's front office "a number of time throughout the offseason." He was asked to address the Padres' rumors.
"San Diego is probably a natural place to have a lot of interest in him because he's done very well against them, thrown a couple no-hitters against them, so they've shown a lot of interest over the offseason. But most of the clubs have shown quite a bit of interest. I think we've sent out medical record to most of the clubs. For Timmy's sake, there are going to be certain clubs that have more holes in their pitching staff than others, and the Padres happen to be one of those clubs," Thurman said.
What is the end-game for Lincecum with his rehab and showcase? Would he settle for a bullpen role or is he steadfast in his desire for a rotation spot on a club?
"Timmy wants to revive his career. The last few years have been disappointing for him. But I think what he really wants to do is get back out there and contribute with a ball club, get to a World Series again. He's a very competitive young man. That's the most important thing. His heart has always been in San Francisco. If that ends up being a situation where that works out, great. If not, he's prepared to go somewhere else," Thurman said.
Thurman was then asked to describe the Giants' level of interest in bringing Lincecum back.
"They've been in touch with me from time to time. There's interest, but they haven't been overly aggressive at all. They've gone out and signed some other free agent pitchers throughout this year. So it's going to be a little more difficult slotting with San Francisco than I would think with other places," Thurman said.
