Tim Lincecum Says He's Open to Pitching from Bullpen in the Future

Two years ago, the prospect of San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum transitioning to the bullpen would have been laughable. Coming off four 13-plus-win seasons and two Cy Young Awards, the diminutive power arm seemed destined for a long, dominant career at the front end of San Francisco’s burgeoning rotation.

But in the last two seasons, the 28-year-old has looked like a different pitcher altogether—and not just because of a new, closely trimmed haircut. He posted a 15-loss season and a 5.18 ERA in 2012, and Lincecum is well on his way to similar numbers this year.

According to Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area, Lincecum may be looking ahead to a future that wouldn’t include being the cornerstone of a starting rotation:

There is more than one interesting point to take away from these comments.  

First, Lincecum is slated to become a free agent following the 2013 season, and there doesn’t seem to be any certainty the Giants will choose to retain him, especially if he finishes this season hovering around the 5.00 ERA mark.

More interestingly, though, it seems Lincecum isn’t focused on driving up his market value for the offseason. Relievers don’t typically warrant a big payday on the open market, and it doesn’t make much sense for the righty to telegraph his willingness to make the transition ahead of a new contract.

Still, there is likely to be a bevy of teams in hot pursuit this winter, and there’s no guarantee Lincecum would actually make the move to the bullpen for any of those teams.

But given his comments on the potential switch—and his abysmal performance of late—it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see him in a setup role at some point in the near future.