White Sox manager Tony La Russa tells reporters, including Scott Merkin of MLB.com, that starter Lance Lynn will likely be reinstated from the injured list in order to start Tuesday’s game against the Tigers.
Acquired from the Rangers prior to the 2021 season, Lynn had just one year remaining on his contract at the time he joined the Pale Hose. He was excellent in his first few months with the White Sox, throwing 90 2/3 innings over 16 starts with a 1.99 ERA. That showing was enough for them to put down $38MM in order to keep him around for two more seasons, with a club option for 2024 as well.
Coming into this year, Lynn was set to be a key member of a rotation that looked to be a strength for the South Siders, though that hasn’t gone according to plan. Lynn left his final Spring Training start with discomfort in his right knee, the same knee that sent him to the injured list for a time in 2021. He ultimately required surgery and has been working his way back to health ever since.
The Sox have seen their rotation depth tested in a few different ways this year, on top of not yet having any contributions from Lynn thus far. Lucas Giolito has been on the IL twice, Vince Velasquez is currently out due to a groin injury, and Dallas Keuchel struggled enough to get released. Still, the starting corps has still held its own, thanks to strong performances from Giolito, Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech and Johnny Cueto. Chicago starters have a 3.99 ERA on the year as a unit, 14th-best in the majors, not terrible considering the hiccups they’ve faced.
The club has been weathering their injuries enough to tread water in the American League postseason race, currently sitting on a 27-30 record, just 2 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. If Lynn can return and show anything resembling his 2019-2021 form, he will give a huge boost to the club. Over those three seasons, he threw 449 1/3 innings with a 3.26 ERA, 27.5% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate. The 12.3 fWAR he accumulated in that time was fifth among qualified pitchers across baseball, trailing only Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, Zack Wheeler and Max Scherzer. Once Lynn takes the ball, the rotation should be at full strength, with the 35-year-old slotting next to Giolito, Cease, Kopech and Cueto. Davis Martin, who recently fared well in three spot starts (one behind an opener), will likely be bumped down to the sixth spot on the depth chart, pitching in Triple-A or long relief in the meantime.
Add back Lynn and a new manager.
Tony knows exactly how many donuts Lynn needs to maximize his effectiveness.
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Since Lynn keeps himself in such impeccable shape, how can anyone doubt he will soon reclaim his status as ace of the staff.
But according to the Sox TV ‘boys’, every pitcher taking the mound for the Sox, is the ace of the staff.
Giolito is pitching like he can’t wait to get out to California.
Grandal likely to replace him on IL.
Let’s see how good Carlos Perez is!
Did Grandal develop red eye staring down Donaldson?
I know everyone wants LaRussa fired but the WhiteSox were in a mess before he got there, can’t be upset by a playoff berth
They are an even bigger mess now than when he got there, they were a young team on the rise coming off a playoff birth when he arrived.
Lynn will be activated, then in his first start Tony will have him intentionally walk every batter he gets 2 strikes on. Because Tony is smarter than the rest of us.
Lance Lynn can turn the While Sox fortunes around…….
As long as he can get all his outs by K’ing the opposition, and hire professional baserunners and situational hitters to play when he pitches.
Fire Tony!!
KEEP TONY!!!! I love watching him in the dugout, pretty soon his dark hair dye will be running down his cheeks, just like Rudy’s did.
LaRussa needs to take a breathalyzer before, during every pitching change, and after every game. Also need to check his Gatorade. It smells funny.
Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf hired his old buddy Tony for one last hurrah on the way out the door for both of them. I’m not sure a 78 year old manager can relate to some of the younger players with attitudes on the team . They’ve spent more time trying to manufacture conflicts with other teams hoping to bring the team together than they have playing good baseball. Yes they’ve had injuries but every team has. I say don’t fire Tony I love watching him in the dugout struggling to stay awake
Glad Lynn is coming back but his return probably won’t be enough. My hopes for this team are on the Il. They’re seriously hard to watch. I don’t know what the hell is going on with the White Sox but they need something and a new manager certainly could be it. I know he won’t be fired though.
I used to be certain that Tony wasn’t going to be fired, but a couple more glaring errors like the intentional walk fiasco (made even worse by his doubling down on it in postgame comments as if it should have been obvious to everyone else)…. and who knows?
I forgot about Lance Lynn lol
Lance Lynn likely to be activated Tuesday….will be back on DL Friday.
Makes sense, well, only if we ignore he was one of the most durable starters in MLB for basically a decade straight, 2012-2021, on percent of expected starts made.
I find it odd that it was the right knee that’s what hurt rather than his left knee which he has to land on
Since Kopech just went down with a knee he twisted on the mound in the 1st inning the starting P curse continues. LaRussa and Katz are feebs and not up to the task at hand. They both need to go or it’s over for this year. I said they should of signed Bud Black when they signed Renteria I believe. They need a manager who was a P and can manage a bullpen.
Could the ‘sod-father’ be the problem?
Nah it was Kopech’s own fault. He slipped the pitch before and even Stone said Michael, Take your time and dig yourself a landing spot and he didn’t and slipped again and got hurt. Thank God he didn’t tear his achillles. He should be back in 15 days I would think. But, I’m not a Dr. but then apparently neither are the White Sox Drs or training staff because the whole team is a walking injury.