Tim Lincecum Comments on Timeline for 1st Start with Angels

Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tim Lincecum is bound to make his debut with the club soon enough, but he said Tuesday he'll have one more outing for the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees before returning to the MLB level.

FanDuel's Jessica Kleinschmidt provided the update from Lincecum on his future:   

Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported Tuesday the Angels will decide within "the next day or two" who their starting pitcher will be for Sunday's road game against the Oakland Athletics.

The 31-year-old veteran pitched five innings in his first start for Salt Lake, yielding three hits, three earned runs and three walks to go with five strikeouts, per MiLB.com.

It's therefore understandable he'd want to get more competitive reps under his belt before making his opening start for the Angels. However, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez pointed out how Lincecum showed marked improvement in his second Triple-A outing on Tuesday:

Lincecum was a two-time National League Cy Young Award winner with the San Francisco Giants and was a part of three World Series championship teams. Unfortunately, degenerative hip issues that required surgery last September caused his form to fall off in recent years.

There's no getting around the fact Los Angeles is in dire need of help in its starting pitching rotation, though.

Nick Tropeano became the fifth Angels starter to be currently dealing with an injury when he went on the disabled list Saturday with shoulder tightness.

The circumstances may well have Lincecum on the fast track to the big leagues without other experienced options for L.A. to plug in. If Lincecum is healthy, he could provide a desperately needed spark to the Angels staff.