By Ken Rosenthal, Fabian Ardaya and Katie Woo
The St. Louis Cardinals and starting pitcher Lance Lynn have agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract, a major league source confirmed. ESPN first reported the news. Here’s what you need to know:
Is Lynn a redevelopment project?
It wouldn’t be long before the Cardinals, a team desperate to start pitching, began bolstering their rotation. It makes sense that they started with Lynn, especially given her history.
Signing Lynn gives St. Louis a veteran presence in the rotation for a relatively low-risk financial deal. But if the Cardinals are serious about being competitive next year, they’ll need a better performance than Lynn did last season. St. Louis seems to have an affinity for redevelopment projects, and the organization has had success in the past with pitchers like Miles Mikolas, Jon Lester and JA Happ. They’ll be looking for the same track record with Lynn. — Katie Woo, Cardinals staff writer
How Lynn fared in 2023
Lynn made the biggest splash the Dodgers made at least through the year’s trade deadline — but it was a deal that hoped for a version of Lynn he wouldn’t be in 2023. Although he continued to miss at-bats with his fastball-heavy approach, he was unable to keep the ball in the ballpark. His 44 home runs allowed between the White Sox and Dodgers last year were the sixth-most in a single season in major league history – a number that surpasses the record-breaking four home runs he allowed in a single inning with the Dodgers Not included were ‘decisive loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series.
It wasn’t that long ago that Lynn was pitching well enough to secure Cy Young votes. But even after accepting some of the Dodgers’ tweaks — more curveballs, fewer cutters, some mechanical adjustments to give his fastball more life — the results just didn’t get any better last year. Lynn still offers plenty of volume, which any club can appreciate, but the Dodgers’ bet that he could be an impactful postseason arm at this stage of his career didn’t pan out for them in 2023. – Fabian Ardaya, Dodgers editor
What’s next for St. Louis?
Lynn should slot in at the back end of the Cardinals’ rotation, between Mikolas and Steven Matz, who are the only two starters under contract for 2024.
The biggest challenge for baseball president John Mozeliak is the amount of pitching he has to learn for next season. Lynn is one of several moves the longtime manager must make this winter if the Cardinals want to achieve their self-proclaimed goal of being a competitive club next year. Mozeliak stated during general manager meetings that he would like to add “at least two starting pitchers.” St. Louis is still lacking top talent, and now that they have secured some depth in Lynn, this should be a priority for the club moving forward. – Woo
Required reading
(Photo: Rich Story / USA Today)