The Yankees continue to eye the rehabbing Tim Lincecum

Rumors are once again beginning to circulate that two-time Cy Young award winner Tim “The Freak” Lincecum is planning to hold a showcase to show major league teams what he has left in the tank. Of course, given the number of times similar rumors have made the rounds this offseason, they should be treated with skepticism until Lincecum actually makes his 2016 debut in the public eye. The Yankees are said to be doing their due diligence on Lincecum and would presumably be one of the teams present at the showcase, whenever it actually happens.

San Francisco would seem like the most obvious landing spot for Lincecum since he has spent all nine seasons of his MLB career with the club and is currently working out at their facilities. Still, the longer they go without signing him the more likely it is that another team could swoop in. On Friday, Jon Heyman of the MLB Network cited a source who saw Lincecum throwing 90-91 in a recent session and said a showcase could take place next week.

That would be an encouraging sign for Lincecum, who saw his average fastball velocity drop to 87.2 mph in 76.1 IP last year before his season was ended by a degenerative hip condition. In September, the surgeon who repaired the torn labrum and alleviated the impingement in Lincecum’s hip, Marc Philippon, expressed his confidence that the procedure could allow Lincecum to regain his past form. While Lincecum threw in the mid 90’s during his peak, he has been sporadically effective in recent years while throwing in the 90-91 range.

The team that signs him shouldn’t expect him to add anymore hardware to his collection, but he could settle in as a solid back of the rotation option. Steamer projects a 4.77 ERA and 4.64 FIP in 116 innings, which wouldn’t move the needle much for New York over their internal options. However, Lincecum is still just 31. If he’s willing to spend some time proving himself in the minors, he’s certainly worth a gamble if only because of his impressive resume.

A non-guaranteed MiLB deal would be a no brainer, but given the number of interested teams (Heyman estimates 20), someone will reach and give him a modest major league commitment. Given the Yankees’ recent aversion to signing free agents, with 16 months and counting since their last one, they seem like an unlikely landing spot.

At the same time, there is a definite need. Not only has New York’s rotation struggled in the first month of 2016, but there is also a tremendous injury risk. With mediocre Triple-A starters Luis Cessa and Chad Green their only real safety net at the moment, paying a few million to stash Lincecum in Scranton seems like a smart move. If he is even half the pitcher he used to be, he could provide a significant boost.