Tim Lincecum Playing In M’s Favor

Aug 11, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher

(34) is greeted in the dugout by pitching coach

after the 8th inning of the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Safeco Field. The Mariners won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports

Right now the Mariners arguably have one of the best 1-2 punch pitching rotations with King Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma. However, as has been harped on incessantly since around April 10th (I’m just throwing a random date out there), the Mariners need more rotation depth.

Yes, people keep pipe-dream hoping that Tim Lincecum, the Bellevue, Wash. native would be signed by the Mariners. That was great blog banter, fun for sport and recreational arguments.

But now it could very well be a reality. And the whole situation nicely lends itself to giving the M’s a real shot at the Freak.

Today it was made known by the San Francisco Giants organization that Timmy is planning on declining their qualifying offer in hopes of first testing the free agent waters. Now, there is no big surprise there. Kendrys Morales of the M’s is expected to do the same thing. Because with the offer on the table, what reason is there to not even sneak a peek at that grass on the other side?

What’s more with Lincecum though, is that he is reportedly looking for a short-term deal as opposed to something more substantial.

Aug 14, 2013; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher

(39) walks back to the dugout after pitching the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Worst-case:

The Mariners sign Lincecum to a 3 year/$51 million contract (remember this is an absurd, worst-case scenario). Timmy really wanted a one or two-year deal, but when Jack Z cornered him in a local Bellevue bar he had no choice. In his first season, 2014, he is the number 3 starter and posts numbers that look like Aaron Harang and Joe Saunders genetically mutated together to be one really awfully inconsistent pitcher– although Lincecum will always have a significantly leaner physique than those two. His ERA balloons to 5.20 in the confines of Safeco, and he gets buried in the depths of the Mariners so-so bullpen.

Then in 2015 Lincecum is a shade of himself and loses the rest of the season to a torn ACL suffered when running a 5K in support of Washington’s most recently legalized recreational drug.

By 2016 he is out of baseball, reclining in a Clyde Hill mansion with enough pizza and medicinal herbs to last a lifetime.  And the Mariners get nothing out of his homecoming.

Sep 27, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Fireworks explode over the left field stands of Safeco Field concluding fan appreciation night against the Oakland Athletics. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Best-case:

The Mariners give Lincecum a 2 year/ $32 million dollar contract and 2014 starts with a bang. Felix is vintage Felix. IwaKKKKKKKuma strikes out the first 60 batters he faces. And Timmy the Freak Lincecum rounds out the most devastating 1-2-3 rotation in baseball. Then, with the pressure off of youngsters Taijuan Walker and James Paxton at the bottom of the rotation, the M’s start consistently winning baseball games.

Loving spacious Safeco Field and loving being back home, just miles from where he grew up and where he played college ball (the University of Washington), Lincecum posts a sub-3.00 ERA before the All-Star break. By the end of the season the M’s manage a wild-card game berth against the Baltimore Orioles. Lincecum mows them down en route to an eventual ALDS series loss to the Red Sox.

But with that extra year of development the young M’s position players take a step forward in 2015. The Mariners win 117 games (beating their old record of 116) behind four 20-game winners: King Felix, the Fresh Prince of Seattle (Tai Walker), IwaKKKKKKuma, and the Freak. They cruise through the ALDS and the ALCS and sweep the Giants in the World Series for their first ever championship.

At the end of that 2015 season Lincecum is 32 and receives a 5 year/$98 million dollar contract to go play for the Yankees. The Mariners now with the world on their shoulders, trade for Matt Harvey of the Mets and never lose another game.

Aug 14, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum (55) bumps fists with teammates prior to the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Okay so that last sentence is a little much. And IF the Mariners do find a way to sign Lincecum, the result will likely be somewhere in the middle. But IF he does sign with the M’s, he is getting the perfect opportunity to re-showcase his stuff while being close to home and with a team that has a lot of potential in the future.

If he goes vintage and the M’s suck, he can go get his payday elsewhere after the likely 2 year contract. If he sucks it won’t matter for the M’s because we didn’t overpay, and it won’t matter for him because he will likely be out of a job. If he goes vintage and the M’s improve markedly, what would keep him from re-signing with a young team with a bright future?

The 2-time Cy Young winning deserves another shot. And why not here in Seattle? I know the M’s passed up on him in the draft, but now is the time to right that ship.

It is a Win-Win for everyone involved if Tim Lincecum signs with the Mariners. So come on Jack Z, bring on the Freak.