One thing the Los Angeles Dodgers front office values is depth, particularly within their pitching staff. No more has that been evident by the club using in excess of 10 starters each of the past two seasons.
Their depth took a bit of a hit this winter, Brandon McCarthy and Scott Kazmir were traded to the Atlanta Braves and Yu Darvish recently reportedly agreed to terms on a six-year contract with the Chicago Cubs.
The Dodgers still have a capable rotation in Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Alex Wood, Kenta Maeda and Hyun-Jin Ryu; with Walker Buehler, Brock Stewart and Ross Stripling among those providing depth.
As has been the case the last few seasons though, the Dodgers could never have too much depth. Thus, members of their front office will be attending a showcase for former two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum on Thursday, via Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball:
source: dodgers will attend tim lincecum's showcase on thursday. (yes, giants will be there, too)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 13, 2018
Lincecum, the former San Francisco Giants ace, is attempting to make a comeback after sitting out the 2017 season. His last big league stint with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2016 was not a good one, as he went 2-6 with a 9.16 ERA, 7.16 FIP and 2.37 WHIP in nine starts. He struck out 32 and walked 23 in 38.1 innings of work.
The four-time All-Star has mostly been a starter throughout his 10-year big league career, although he has made eight relief appearances, so he also could come out of the bullpen if need be.
Depending on how he looks in his showcase, whichever team takes a chance on Lincecum would likely only need to make a Minor League commitment to him.
The 34-year-old won back-to-back National League Cy Young Awards while with the Giants in 2008 and 2009, but has not yielded an ERA below 4.13 since 2011.