Tim Lincecum Designated for Assignment

Heh.

I called it last night, "Was That Tim Lincecum's Last Game?"

And indeed it was.

Jeff Fletcher reports, at the O.C. Register, "End of the line? Angels cut Tim Lincecum, ask him to go to minors":

Angels have DFA'd Tim Lincecum.

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 6, 2016

#Angels hope Lincecum will go to AAA and work it out. He has the choice of accepting.

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 6, 2016

The Angels couldn't let Tim Lincecum keep trying -- and failing -- in the majors any more. They DFA'd him. https://t.co/ZRab6ug6rC

— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) August 6, 2016

SEATTLE – Tim Lincecum’s comeback attempt with the Angels -- one phase of it anyway -- is over.

The Angels designated Lincecum for assignment on Saturday, a day after his ninth start ballooned his ERA to 9.16.

“He hasn’t progressed from his first couple starts,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “He’s regressed a little bit. It’s a matter of understanding his mechanics, getting his release point more consistent. That’s really impossible to work out at the major league level.”

Presumably Lincecum will clear waivers and then he will have the option of accepting the Angels assignment to Triple-A or becoming a free agent.

“We hope he’ll go to Triple-A and work on it and see how it progresses,” Scioscia said.

Lincecum left the ballpark Saturday before reporters had the chance to talk to him, but Scioscia said that he handled the news well.

“It’s hard news to take, but Tim understands it,” Scioscia said. “He’s pragmatic. He understands the work he needs to do. Hopefully he’ll accept this challenge and use the opportunity to become a better pitcher.”

Lincecum, 32, has spent much of the past five years trying to revive his career. A two-time Cy Young winner, Lincecum has struggled since 2012, with much of his trouble because of a hip injury that altered his delivery and led to surgery last year.

The Angels signed Lincecum in May – after watching him pitch in a showcase event in Arizona – and gave him a few weeks to get ready in the minors.

His June 18 debut in an Angels uniform was encouraging. He gave up one run in six innings in a victory over the Oakland A’s.

Since then, though, he has failed to finish six innings in any of his last eight starts. He has allowed at least three runs in each start...

I haven't blogged Angels baseball as much this summer as I did last year (the Angels were heavily in the hunt then). But if you're following me on Twitter you'd have seen my comments on Lincecum. I was really pleased with his initial comeback outing in Oakland. Of course, everyone had high hopes. But good things never materialized and last night it all fell apart. I bet Scioscia was getting a lot of heat about it, and he finally made the call to cut the dude loose. It's gotta be humiliating for a former Cy Young winner, but what are you going to do? I agree with Scioscia: He needs to go back down to Triple A and grind it out for a while. Maybe he'll get another chance to play in the majors. He's only 32-years-old.

But keep reading.