Giants general manager Bobby Evans revealed during a radio interview that Tim Lincecum has been ruled out for the remainder of the season following a setback in his recovery from a hip injury.
Evans told KNBR in San Francisco (via Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle) that Lincecum got a second opinion from a specialist and is facing surgery.
Lincecum is in the final season of his contract and Schulman writes that the injury “almost certainly signals the end of Lincecum’s career in San Francisco.”
Lincecum last pitched in late June, finishing the season with a 4.13 ERA and 60/38 K/BB ratio in 76 innings over 15 starts. His velocity, strikeout rate, and overall performance have been in decline for several years, leaving the two-time Cy Young winner looking like more of a back-of-the-rotation starter despite being just 31 years old.
He hasn’t posted an ERA below 4.00 since 2011, going 39-42 with a 4.68 ERA in 616 total innings during that time. By comparison, Lincecum had a 2.98 ERA in 1,028 innings from 2007-2011.
