The Cardinals are planning to activate right-hander Lance Lynn from the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, as noted by The Athletic’s Katie Woo. Lynn will take the ball for a start against the Reds in St. Louis when he returns to action. The veteran right-hander has been on the injured list for just over a month due to a bout of knee inflammation.
Lynn, 37, pitched decently enough for the Cardinals in 21 starts prior to going on the IL. In 106 1/3 innings of work, he posted a roughly league average 4.06 ERA (105 ERA+) with a 4.46 FIP and a 20.8% strikeout rate. Lynn pitched quite well for St. Louis throughout the first half but his numbers took a sharp turn for the worse in July, when he pitched to a 6.27 ERA and 7.04 FIP in just 18 2/3 innings of work across four starts.
Even with that ghastly performance in his last four starts before hitting the IL, however, his overall numbers this season are much better than they were in 2023 and roughly comparable to the 2022 campaign, when he posted a 3.99 ERA (99 ERA+) and 3.82 FIP in 21 starts. While the veteran right-hander is no longer close to the same pitcher who posted a sterling 3.26 ERA (146 ERA+) and 3.39 FIP with a 27.5% strikeout rate and three consecutive top-6 finishes in AL Cy Young award voting from 2019 to 2021, he’s still proven to be a capable back-end rotation option after a disastrous 2023 season where he struggled to a 5.73 ERA (77 ERA+) with a 5.53 FIP in 183 2/3 innings of work.
Given Lynn’s value as a steady back-of-the-rotation arm and the Cardinals’ lack of starting pitching depth headed into 2025, it’s no surprise that the club would want Lynn to make a few starts down the stretch as they evaluate whether to pick up their $12MM option on his services for next year or decline the option in favor of a $1MM buyout. They have an identical decision on their hands regarding fellow veteran righty Kyle Gibson, who has pitched to a 4.39 ERA (97 ERA+) with a 4.26 FIP in 26 starts with the club during his age-36 season this year.
With those decisions looming after the season comes to a close, the Cardinals also figure to use the last few weeks of the season to evaluate right-hander Andre Pallante’s viability as a long-term rotation option for the club. The 25-year-old’s 4.07 ERA (105 ERA+) and 4.08 FIP aren’t especially spectacular, but he’s looked very impressive since moving from the bullpen to the rotation in late May with a 3.81 ERA and 4.00 FIP in his last 87 1/3 innings of work spread across 16 starts. Staff ace Sonny Gray and longtime veteran Miles Mikolas both appear to be entrenched in their current rotation roles as well, and that’s left southpaw Steven Matz as the odd man out of the club’s rotation picture.
According to Woo, the lefty is set to be available out of the bullpen starting tomorrow, after making just one start since returning from a lengthy trip to the injured list that wiped out four months of his 2024 campaign. The 33-year-old signed with the Cardinals on a four-year, $44MM deal prior to the 2022 season but that contract hasn’t panned out as he’s struggled to a 4.61 ERA (98 ERA+) despite a solid 3.98 FIP. He’s also been limited to just 185 1/3 innings of work over the past three years by injuries and multiple moves to the bullpen, and figures to act as a back-end rotation option and long relief arm for the club once again in 2025, depending on the needs of the roster and the lefty’s performance.
No mention of Fedde. That’s understandable given his performance with the Cardinals so far.
At the time it was a great trade, now fedde is looking like the Washington version and Pham is already gone
Tried to tell you, the Edman trade was a poor move, and I am a Pham fan.
Yeah… I can’t believe how bad the white Sox and cards have done with this trade, and the dodgers now have edman and a 100 mph future closer
“in 21 starts prior to going on the IL. In 106 1/3 innings of work, he posted a roughly league average 4.06 ERA (105 ERA+) with a 4.46 FIP ”
Cue all the people who said that Lynn was totally washed up and no longer major league caliber and that the projections were right admitting that they were wrong. Those comments should come flooding in any minute. Right?
I never said those things. I was against the signing because the Cardinals needed at least one more front of the rotation starter. Instead they have one front of the rotation starter and now 5 fifth starters.
Yeah what Cardsfan57 said. I thought Lynn would do pretty much what he’s done but the team needed and still needs a number 2 and the team also has plenty of guys who can pitch in the back of the rotation.
CF57 and BP
Then you have no reason to admit to being wrong.
I didn’t mind the signing at the time. It was a worthy gamble and the hope was that they’d get about what they’ve gotten in terms of ERA, FIP, etc., the problem is we were content with that production as long as it also came with 6-7 innings/start. He and Gibson were signed to eat innings. 106 innings in 21 starts is only 5 innings/start.
If getting more innings was the main goal—and that’s what Mo said at the time—then the signing has fallen short of expectations.
Why not give Tink Hence (or some other pitcher in the minors) an opportunity. Seems at the very least if he struggles HE could be a back of the rotation option.
Hence can’t come close to pitching a full workload at this point. Matthews is coming soon and Mcgreevy is an innings eater but Hence is still a ways off mid 2026 imo.
It’s actually possible to build up your “workload” while doing so in the majors. If Hence is still two years away from contributing then we can assume he’s going the way of every other Cardinals’ pitching prospect of the past decade . . . and this is why we’re in the position we are in.
I’m thinking Tink should be considered a future bullpen arm. A very good one. I just don’t think he can go 5+ innings on a regular basis.
I think 2025 will be a very important year for him. If he can stay healthy and get the innings in then he still has a chance to start but if he doesn’t he could be headed to the pen. The good thing about Hence is he’s always performed.
Yeah I know, but my point was surely someone in the farm system could be just as impactful as to what they have now.
This will definitely turn the Cards season around.
Next year’s rotation looks a whole lot like:
Sonny Gray
Kyle Gibson
Miles Mikolas
Andre Pallante
Gordon Graceffo
I’m really hoping that they buy out Lynn’s contract for $1 million.
At the end of next year, both Kyle Gibson and Miles Mikolas will be free agents. So hopefully another pitcher in the minor-league system is ready to step up by then.
Probably no reason to bring Gibson back. Fedde and Matz are both under contract for next season. There are enough guys at the AAA level to provide depth. Ownership plans to punish the fans for not showing up to games by cutting payroll next season. Gibson is probably too expensive at 12 mil.
How the heck did I forget about Fedde??!! Matz to the pen…?
Matz might end up in the pen, but he will be given every chance to start due to his salary. That’s just how the Cards operate.
Because he hasn’t been very good, and 5 innings is about it.