Lincecum to wear No. 44 with Rangers to honor late brother

Every time Tim Lincecum puts on his uniform this season, he'll have a reminder of his late brother.

Lincecum arrived at camp Tuesday after agreeing to a one-year deal with the Texas Rangers, and opted to ditch the No. 55 he has worn throughout his career in order to pay homage to his older brother Sean, who died last month.

"In honor of my brother," Lincecum said, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. "That was his number. Either 12 or 44. Twelve was taken. So it's 44."

Sean was 37 when he passed, and Tim attended his funeral Saturday before joining the Rangers in Arizona.

"For me, I always looked up to my brother. He was an idol for me," Tim said. "He just had a lot of bad runs with choices he made in life. That’s where we’re at right now."

Lincecum wore No. 55 with both the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels during the first 10 years of his career. Rangers starter Matt Moore currently wears No. 55 for Texas but said Monday he was open to giving Lincecum the number if he wanted to wear it.

"It’s not like it's something I have to have," Moore said. "When I saw we signed him, shoot, if that's something he wants, it's all his."