November 21: The Cards have now made it official, announced they signed Lynn to a one-year deal with a club option for 2025.
November 20: The Cardinals and right-hander Lance Lynn are in agreement on a one-year contract with a club option for the 2025 season, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Lynn, a client of Headline Sports Group, will earn around $10MM on the contract, which is still pending the completion of a physical. Jon Heyman of the New York Post puts the guarantee at $11MM, noting that there’s a $10MM salary in 2024 and a $1MM buyout on the 2025 option. The deal also contains $3MM in potential performance incentives. The option is valued at $10MM, per the Associated Press. That value would escalate by $1MM apiece if Lynn tallies 170 and 190 innings next season.
It’s a homecoming for the 36-year-old Lynn, whom the Cardinals selected with the No. 39 overall pick in the 2008 draft. The 6’5″ righty spent the first six seasons of his career in St. Louis, solidifying himself as a quality big leaguer by throwing 977 2/3 innings of 3.38 ERA ball. Lynn reached free agency on the heels of that strong run but did so fresh off the shakiest strikeout, walk and home run rates of his career in 2016. He rejected a qualifying offer from the Cards that offseason and found a tepid market, ultimately landing with the Twins on a one-year deal that was agreed upon after spring training had commenced.
Things in Minnesota didn’t go that well, but Lynn rebounded to an extent following a trade to the Yankees and reinvigorated his career in a subsequent four-year stint between the Rangers and White Sox. From 2019-22, Lynn was one of the American League’s most durable and best starters. He pitched 571 innings of 3.42 ERA ball in that time, whiffing 26.8% of his opponents against a 6.2% walk rate. That success came under a three-year, $30MM deal originally agreed to with Texas and a two-year, $38MM extension signed with Chicago following a trade to the ChiSox.
The second season of that extension, this most recent year, marked the worst season of Lynn’s lengthy career. Lynn was baseball’s most homer-prone pitcher in 2023, surrendering an average of 2.16 long balls per nine frames (yielding 44 overall). He remained healthy and ate up plenty of innings, totaling 183 2/3 frames between the Sox and the Dodgers, but his 5.73 earned run average on the year was the second-highest of any qualified starter, leading only Kansas City’s Jordan Lyles.
Despite that career-worst showing, Lynn will still secure an eight-figure guarantee. The Cardinals, in need of at least three starting pitchers this winter, surely value Lynn’s durability and the bulk innings he can bring to the table. They’re also likely heartened by the fact that even through all of his home run woes, Lynn still posted an above-average 23.8% strikeout rate and a solid 8.3% walk rate. The veteran righty’s 12.9% swinging-strike rate remained well above the league average for a starting pitcher as well, and he also induced chases on pitches off the plate at a slightly above-average 32.4% rate. Lynn still has good spin on his four-seamer and cutter as well.
While there are plenty of positive indicators, there’s no sugarcoating the bottom-line results in 2023. It was a poor season from Lynn through and through, and he’ll need to rebound in a substantial way in order to have a meaningful impact on the Cardinals’ rotation. Given the Cardinals’ dire need for help on the starting staff, St. Louis fans were understandably hoping for a clearer upgrade with their first addition.
That said, the Cards still have at least two holes to fill on the staff. If Lynn ends up being the “third” of the three additions to the rotation this offseason, the overall outlook will be much improved. Adding a durable innings eater who can still miss bats and limit walks to round out the fourth or fifth spot in the rotation is perfectly sensible, particularly on a one-year contract with a club option. If the team’s forthcoming additions are more in this same vein, however, it’ll be fair to question the overall direction of the offseason. As with all early-offseason transactions, it’s impossible to glean full context; the overarching picture will be much clearer come spring training.
Lynn’s return to the Cardinals pushes their projected 2024 payroll to a bit more than $159MM, per Roster Resource. The Cards closed out the 2023 season with a payroll in the $178MM range, and president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has indicated that he does not expect payroll to rise substantially. That, however, is not an indication that the Cardinals only have about $20MM of flexibility with which to work. The Cards tendered contracts to both Dylan Carlson and Tyler O’Neill — both of whom stand as obvious trade candidates.
O’Neill is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $5.5MM in 2024, while Carlson is projected to earn $1.8MM. Further, the Cardinals shed several meaningful salaries at the 2023 trade deadline but had been budgeting for a larger payroll prior to their summer sale. In all likelihood, there’s somewhere closer to $40MM with which to work — even after agreeing to terms with Lynn — and that number could further change a bit pending the outcome of various trade scenarios.
Fantastic way to upgrade your rotation right there. I’m sure he will gel well with Contreras.
Wow, I didn’t think the Cardinals were going to sign Lynn. Welcome back to the Cardinals.
Stl pretty clearly going into a rebuild. Lynn is a trade piece for the deadline.
you know you’re wrong… right? if they trade everyone not named Walker that’s a rebuild. calm down. I’d rather have Lynn at #5 than anyone after Matz of he tanks
When was the last time you watched Lynn pitch? 2018?
Lynn was absolutely solid all the way up through 2022, especially for this amount of money. It’s a solid add for the Cards and if he repeats 2023 then toss him to the wind or package him up with a lesser prospect or two to someone to buy down his contract.
Lynn had more strikeouts than anyone in the Cardinals rotation and almost hit 200 IP. He’s also moving to a park that will help suppress his HR issues. This is a solid buy low gamble for St. Louis
Did you see him pitch with the dodgers last year pretty good and remember we need 3 pitchers and he can still rack up the k’s
It’s a fine gamble. Long career of success and if he’s truly finished then you swallow the pill and only got burned on a 1 year deal.
This obviously can’t be all that they do to fix the rotation but it’s a decent starting point.
Check his stats on the Dodgers. Not all that great.
Wow! Really?! I thought Chavez Ravine was a pitchers park, even more so than Busch. Does St Louis have stronger gravity?
The only reason he signed this early is that someone was foolish enough to make him a major league offer. He pounced on it
yes, the gravitational pull is roughly double what it is in LA or Chicago. Probably because of Ballpark village.
Does the name Greg Holland ring a bell? What a disastrous signing that was. Let’s hope this signing doesn’t turn out that way.
I watched him set the record for number of HRs in a playoff game ever.
Homer happy for sure? Cardinals are buying nostalgia for 8 million more than Pujols? Lynn was a good move 5 years ago… like Andrew Miller, Dexter Fowler, Wilson Contreras…. yeah idk… Hopefully Lance Lynn isn’t dialing up the burger phone
Pretty sure they are close to the same elevation which is how “drag” would increase or decrease? View Coors field and humidors, Chase field and Humidors?
Unless Lynn had some undisclosed injury that has been since super-surgically repaired, it’s very unlikely that he’s good in ’24. Very. Not only were the ’23 stats bad, the eye test says it could have been worse.
That said, it’s NOT a bad signing. For 1 year, that money – give it a shot. It’s still baseball, you never know.
@BigFred 9 0f his 11 starts with Dodgers were really good. He got beat up on 2 outings which skewed hos overall stats.
Pretty good being a 4.36 ERA, 47 Ks in 64 IP and 16 HRs in those 64 IP, not to mention an early exit from a bad playoff start? I’d much rather have saved the $11 million to combine with the rest of the money to get an actual high end pitcher, rather than waste it here and fall short in the bidding on the 1-2 starters. This will handcuff the front office on any moves going forward.
That argument would be good except.. Dodger stadium is a pitchers park.
Yep. Greg Holland, Brett Cecil, Andrew Miller, Luke Gregerson, Mike Leake.. Mo’s track record with the timing of signing pitchers is impeccable…ly bad.
He had an ERA over 4.00 in 6 of his 12 starts for the Dodgers, including his playoff start. Hard to call that “really good”.
Thanks Drascoo. I needed a good laugh today.
10 million dollars? All the sudden I feel like the Cubs can in fact trade Smyly!
Apparently the Cardinals have a ton of money to burn, tendering O’Neil and throwing away 10 million on Lynn who should have been five tops.
They said they were going to sign 3 starters. I just assumed they meant good ones. Dealing Smyly does indeed look more plausible after this. I ate some Rum cake and suggested the Cubs sign Brandon Woodruff for 2 years like they did with Smyly. I was giddy and not thinking but I now wish to rescind that and once again go with the Cubs should go young. I would still like an Ace if they do jump in. But my favorite is now gone as Nola resigned. Once again I still think Yammamoto is probably not coming here but I have hopes for Ohtani and maybe a Cease trade is my way to go now. Ohtani odds have risen from zero to maybe 33% IMO.
I’m so glad the Cubs didn’t sign Nola! No more mid-rotation arms for me, especially signed to a 7 year contract!
Woodruff would be great to grab, especially if he could make it back towards the end of the year. With Hendricks leaving at the end of the year (who’s been better than Nola) we have a need for another starter.
I don’t know if Wicks or Assad will be guys that can stick in the rotation but I don’t see either as guys who would “block” Horton or Brown. I’m not a “stuff” guy but I don’t think either guy has that precision to be front line starters.
I could see him as a last resort, not the head of the line.
God, are the Cardinals hard up for pitchers!
Stove is hot today, looks like pitchers are on the menu.
Stove is hot? THAT’s why they signed Lynn…he smelled something cooking!
The article had some interesting phrases: ATE up plenty of innings…; BULK innings…; ROUND out the fourth or fifth inning… Lynn joins Alejandro Kirk, Daniel Vogelbach, Rowdy Tellez and several relief pitchers on the All I-Can’t-Look-Down-And-See-My-Shoes team.
“Brings to the table…”
“pending the completion of a physical”
Charlie’sSinging — Roadkill?
Meatballs?
Lance Lynn certainly gobbled up that Cardinals offer quite quickly…
Why wouldn’t he? He played the waiting game in the 2017-2018 offseason, and he got absolutely screwed. Lynn was expected to get offers for around 4yrs /$50-60MM and when he held out for a good deal, the market dried up. He found himself missing a good portion of Spring Training on a 1yr $12MM contract with the Twins. Having not built up and prepped properly for the season, Lynn was struggling to catch up to ready while he was pitching and it killed his early season performance and that wiped his market value.
Holding out probably cost Lynn $40MM over his career.
2018 = 12MM vs. 15MM (Twins 1yr $12MM) vs. 4yrs $60MM
2019 = 10MM vs. 15MM (Rangers 3yrs $30MM)
2020 = 10MM vs 15MM
2021 = 10MM vs 15MM
2022 = 19MM vs. 20MM (White Sox 2/$38 vs 3yrs $60MM)*
2023 = 19MM vs. 20MM
2024 = 10MM vs. 20MM (Cardinals 1/$10MM)
*Had Lynn taken a 4yr / $60MM deal in 2018, he doesn’t miss any Spring Training and pitches excellent in 2018. That 2018 season really killed Lynn’s reputation. He now has a better track record which makes him more valuable and gets him an extra year.
If Lynn waits and holds out, he may well find himself on a near minimum contract.
I like the idea, but two takes:
1) You are assuming if he signs he ‘pitches excellent’ in 2018. You really can’t be certain.
2) Quite frankly, 2018 was not a bad year at all for him and it did not truly wipe his market value. His FIP was 3.84, which was significantly better than the 4.82 in 2017. I can’t be certain all MLB clubs know FIP is basically as important as ERA, but I would think in today’s analytics that most teams would. It is an assumption though, so I could be wrong, but he had a solid 2018 by more advanced metrics(maybe not for fantasy sports). His only really poor year was 2023.
I was actually hoping the Braves might consider him if other options didn’t work out.
i’d consider him for batting practice.
Lynn was bad with the Sox and took that with him to L.A. The difference was the Dodgers have a far better defense than the Chicago DFA’s have. But there’s no defense for 44 HR’s. I’m surprised the Cards would shoot so low to start their SP rebuild. I hope they do better with their next two additions.
UGA_Steve — You really like to see the ball go out of the park.
Lynn took a below market ext. w/ CWS bc he actually wanted to be there with TLR back then.
If he could’ve went back in time he could’ve just not signed that and he’d have already been locked into a ~$19MM salary or so this year.
Looks like the Cardinals are giving Lynn another Lance
Haha
Sir Lance a lot.
Sir Lunch a Lot
Sir Launch a Lot
HatlessPete: Perfectly put.
cainer18 — And it’s gonna piece them good.
This was always the calibre of pitcher STL was signing.
Scrap heap as always, why I call them the Alcoa cardinals
Yeah, this is very typical of Mo. Find a pitcher who used to be good but has struggled mightily and sign him to a “bargain” ($11 million?) contract to look smart at how you got someone off the scrap heap who had a good track record…years in the past. Backfires every time.
Every time, unless this is the one that finally works out.
Never mind, this is not good front-officing. Bad, bad, bad.
It worked quite well with Lester and Happ in 2021, as well as Mikolas way back in 2018.
Other than those three and Ver Hagen, who wasn’t signed to be a starter in the first place, I don’t know who else you’re talking about. Most of the team’s starters in recent years have consisted of homegrown players and some decent trade acquisitions.. The only two big free agent starter signings (not counting extending their own players) they have made in recent years before now (Leake and Matz) were for guys coming off of decent years.
Lohse
“Leake and Matz” tells you everything.
Lohse was only initially signed to a modest one year deal and then signed a big extension.
Either way, though, Lohse was an another example of a pretty good signing that would’ve great had he not missed two years to injury.
Leake wasn’t a terrible signing, as he posted mediocre but passable numbers throughout the length of his contract. The real problem was that the Cardinals foolishly dumped him for next to nothing and even paid off part of his remaining contract after just a year and a half.
Meanwhile, the jury is still out on Matz, who was actually quite good for the majority of this past season until he got hurt in August.
Still, they both represent times the Cardinals actually made real efforts in entering the starting pitching free agent markets rather than just dumpster diving.
Leake, Cecil, Holland, Miller, Gregerson. All those guys fit the statement “pitcher who used to be good but has struggled” statement. Lester and Happ weren’t free agent signings, and were’t really struggling anyway prior to being traded for.
The Cards are clearly looking for innings eaters until their pitching prospects are ready. If that is Mo’s plan, Kyle Gibson would have been a better option. Lance Lynn’s diminished fastball and pound the zone approach are a recipe for tons of HRs.
At least Busch Stadium is an above average park for preventing home runs.
If Lynn is considered an innings eater, he should be in the bullpen.
Innings aren’t all he eats….
Considering they need three starters, it’s not really a surprise that one of them isn’t a top of the rotation pitcher. Judging their offseason before Thanksgiving even rolls around is quite the choice.
They are swapping out one negative value starter in Wainwright for a slightly less negative value starter in Lynn. If I’m being charitable they spent $10 million to scratch the surface, which would acknowledge the trivial upgrade. $20 million most likely gets them Rich Hill and Kyle Gibson and roughly 300 innings, possibly more, of respectable 4 starter production.
Mozeliak wants a bargain but Lynn’s decline is clearly age related and none of the advanced metrics or peripherals suggest a rebound is remotely likely.
darkyank: Maybe some of it is his age, but a professional athlete shouldn’t have so much midriff bulge.
What? He is still striking batters out at a high rate and had an uncharacteristic leap in HR/9. Then numbers that he’s quite a bit closer to his avg next year as long as he’s putting the time in the offseason to be where he needs to be, and that makes him a much more valuable pitcher than 2023 Lynn.
No, his peripherals are pretty good and suggest that at least a partial rebound is indeed likely.
That uncharacteristic leap was caused by a loss of fastball velocity and movement. Lynn’s strategy has always been to challenge hitters in the strike zone, which at this point means lobbing softballs at hitters.
Hey not many pitchers with his longevity can account from more than 25% of his career homeruns against in his 12th season.
Cooking
This is what the cardinals want for pitching?
They need pitching depth for sure. Lynn probably slides in at the #3 spot with Mikolas at #4 and Matz and Liberatore battling for #5.
Now just need to sign Snell, or Yamamoto, or Gray and trade for Cease or Manoah and there’s your rotation
Mikolas is so much better than Lynn you can’t see one from the other. I dunno if you saw LL pitch last year, but it was embarrassing, and his velo was a couple clicks down from his peak too. He’s likely done.
Mikolas is done too. Matz was gone long ago. Now Lynn?
What is going to happen next?
Somebody save the Cardinals, please.
It depends on which versions of Mikolas and Lynn we get. Although, I agree that even with his inconsistent year that Mikolas was much better than Lynn this past season.
Lynn shouldn’t be the #3 arm in any rotation.
Shouldn’t really be the 5 in any rotation…at least not one looking to contend.
Liberatore is behind Zach Thompson in the pecking order. He was much better in the bullpen.
Pitching evaluation was never a Cardinals strong suit.
They’re not only getting pitching depth, they’re getting a ton of pitching breadth too.
mike-5 — What you are describing is a rotation that will keep the Cards at the bottom.
Cool! The prodigal son returns. Good fit for him. He’ll have a nice platform for a bounce back year. That arm is still live.
He always amazed me by just throwing fastballs. Last year he didn’t look so hot. I’m wondering if Father time is here to stay for him or if he can have a comeback type of year?
191 strikeouts over 183 innings suggests that there is still meat left on the bone
How many HRs?
you didn’t hear? they’re moving the outfield walls to 450 in LF, CF will be around 500 ft. he will give up around 250 doubles instead.
Meat on the bone is one of his between-inning snacks.
Lol. He is one of those new “true 3 outcome” pitchers that are really chic right now.
Wait, did I get that right?
He’s been calling his slider a cutter for years.
Manfred: I hate to say it, but you sound like a cubs fan.
Lol no
36 year old who started to crack two years ago and completely broke last year? A bounce back is not in the Cards.
He wouldn’t bounce very high either.
Mikes 2 matz3 Lynn 4: Thompson 5 and then sign a number 1
That does appear to be the plan. There’s zero chance they can sign a 1 and 2 now. Not after this contract. My guess is Sonny Gray will be the ace of the staff, and the rest will play out as you have it listed. Not exactly the excitement Cards fans had in mind.
Maybe Rodriguez from Detroit he would not cost draft pick he was good last year
Sonny Gray, maybe, or they could bring back Montgomery, but then they can still swing a trade for the third starter they need.
Wrong. One pretty good FA and one maybe good maybe not trade to come
That’s a good plan for 3rd place at best.
Not a terrible deal, if he can be league average and give you 165+ innings then it was well worth the commitment. If he bounces back the club option adds value as well. I’m sure this isn’t the only pitcher the Cardinals add
Yeah, I agree. Too early to be super crítical, larger park, better defense, familiar surroundings. They can go after Wacha too, just have to save the money they save on a couple of higher priced hurlers.
The Cardinals were near the bottom in defense last year. Marmol can’t stand having the same person in the same position too long. He loves moving them all over the field.
Not sure what metric you are using but how many teams can trot out 6 position players with Gold Gloves.
That’s a couple of years ago. Gold glovers age like everyone else. The defense was bad last year, and likely will be bad again this year. Zero gold gloves last year is more telling. The only two left on the team with a shot at gold gloves at this point in their career are Donovan and Edman.
How much do you live in the past? The Cardinals earned the number of gold gloves they deserved last year – zero.
Even 6 gold glovers can’t catch a ball over the fence. He is extremely homer prone.
First off Nolan Arrenado isn’t just the best third baseman in Baseball. He is the best third baseman in the history of Baseball. You have to watch him play every day to truly appreciate his still set. Goldschmit isn’t flashy but shows no sign of diminished talent. Donovan was hurt the last couple of months so his GG chances evaporated. O’Neill was also hurt too much. Tommy Edman was forced out of position into CF or he would have repeated. That doesn’t include Carlson or Nootbar, both excellent defenders. Wynn was a mid-season call-up. If that talent isn’t one of the best in Baseball, I don’t know which mlb team would be better.
Arenado is still the best 3B in the game? Is that why he didn’t finish in the top 3 for NL gold glove finalists? Ke’Bryon Hayes deservedly won that award.
“He is the best third baseman in the history of Baseball.”
Hahaha….you don’t know history at all, do you? There is a sizable list of better ones than Arenado (which is how he spells his name, BTW),
No history? I am 72. I played in the minors for 3 years. My father worked for Rawlings. He repaired almost all the players gloves in the NL. I was fortunate to rove the players dugout and training rooms. Nolan Arenado is the greatest defensive 3rd baseman ever.
spudchukar — And here I thought it was Pedro Feliz.
That Brooks Robinson guy wasn’t too bad at 3rd.
No he wasn’t and until I saw Arenado play Brooks was probably the best, but then I saw someone even better.
You apparently haven’t watched Ke’Bryan Hayes play. He’s head and shoulders above Arenado at this point in their careers, and he plays in the same league. Arenado will not win another gold glove unless Hayes is injured or traded to the AL. Goldschmidt too will never win another gold glove. Christian Walker is head and shoulders better. Arenado and Goldy are both fine fielders, but not GG caliber anymore. I agree Donovan and Edman can both win GGs. O’Neill? Really? He has to play to win one. If he’s not on the field, it doesn’t help the defense. Carlson the same. Nootbar is solid, but nowhere near GG caliber. This team will not be winning more than one or two GGs in a season anytime soon. Walker is one of the worst defenders in baseball. Burleson is similarly bad. Contreras can throw guys out, but can’t do much else defensively. Gorman is passable, but generally fairly average. There are a lot of holes in this defense, and a lot of guys regressing toward average in their old age. It’s reality. Wynn can field, but if he can’t hit, he’ll be in the minors.
One more important stat – The Cardinals were tied for last with the lowly Rockies in defensive efficiency last year. Outside of that important stat, they ranked in the bottom half of baseball in most defensive metrics last year. Their fielding percentage was good, but all that means is they made the play when the ball was hit at them. They don’t range or cover gaps/holes well anymore. It’s a sad reality for a team that probably was the best defensive team in baseball just a couple of years ago.
Dodgers have a larger park and better D, but it didn’t seem to matter. Lynn still got shelled.
More Relievers to HOF — “League average?” You’re grasping for straws. Or are you the guy in the stands collecting balls? Hang in there, you’ll get plenty.
No problem with this signing as long as the next 2 are higher caliber pitchers.
If they get two 1-2 caliber pitchers, I completely agree…but do we really think they’re going to do that?
Dream on.
Yamamoto & Gray. not holding my breath. with how long the posting process will take, I hope they can get Gray now. If they miss on the rest they can trade for Cease, Glasnow or Bieber.
Probably a good place for him to try and bounce back, Cardinal fans should welcome him back with open arms and large ovations.
And with open buffets and large portions.
Hoping for the best, but other than eating a lot of innings and staying healthy, Lynn was awful last year. One of the worst pitchers in baseball. Having a near 6 ERA pitching in Dodger Stadium is quite hard to do (and a pretty good indication that LA didn’t have a lot of depth last year). His one-trick fastball show worked for a long time, but it was dependent on maintaining a certain velo. Now that he’s in the 2nd half of his 30’s, he may be done.
Jordan Lyles was the only qualified starter with a worse ERA and nobody gave up more HRs than Lynn. His strikeout rate went down with the Dodgers too…
I was shocked that Lynn was on the NLDS Roster, no less started Game 3 over Pepiot who was the Dodgers best pitcher in August/September.
Most Dodgers fans were shocked too!
@Cam
Including me!!!
Not the worst idea ever, if he can be league average or close to it as a 4 or 5…However,
If this is the FO idea of a #2 starter it’s going to be a long summer here in StL.
Lynn + Contreras= 7+ ERA
I bet Herrera catches more innings than Contreras this year
I agree Mike
Are you predicting Herrera gets traded to another team or an injury plagued season for Contreras?
If you’re signing him to throw BP, a new pitching machine would have been cheaper.
@OCTraveler
With the way MLB has cheapened the game in so many ways it wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t go to robotic pitching machines in the future replacing humans.
He was really good at throwing batting practice for the White Sox and Dodgers last year. Unfortunately he did it for the other teams and in games.
I love it , keep ‘‘em coming Baumgarten and No Game James Shields on line 3
Good pick up at a very good price. For all these bloated contracts, Lance Lynn seems like a guy who consistently gets very fair deals that are neither underpays nor overpays and also aren’t too long in total years.
He’s like the ideal player in terms of compensation and time committment.
I would call it an overpay. $11 million for a guy who was one of the worst pitchers in baseball last year and is 36 years old is a lot of money that now can’t be spent on a top two starter. Because of the finance issue, I’d rather give rookies a spot at the back end than sign a broken down old man and waste the extra $10 million or so. Remember, the Cards were said to have about $45 million to spend this offseason. Now they have $34 million to spend. That’s not going to pay for two front line starters.
I don’t think your math is correct. They had $56 million to spend, plus they just gained about $6.5 million in non-tenders.
They now have about $50 million to spend, plus whatever they trade away (O’Neill, Carlson, Edman, whatever). They’re going to have room to add payroll.
Let’s wait and see what they spend. We’ve heard this song and dance before, and it never ends well for us. I’d make a friendly wager that they don’t sniff $50 million more spent in addition to the Lynn contract. That would put them well over the luxury tax, something this ownership group has not wanted to come close to in the past.
Put the weed down, it’s making you say silly stuff.
Now trade for Manoah and buffets all across America will be scared.
This reunion will go as well as Jake Arrieta’s with the Cubs in 2021.
Lynn is cooked.
Arrieta was cringe worthy. I had forgotten.
Seems like a pretty safe move, especially for a team trying to completely rebuild that rotation. If he’s your #5, you’re prob in a good spot. If he ends up being one of your better pitchers, oh boy.
It kills them financially. They were only projected to spend perhaps $45 million this offseason. Now they can’t possibly afford two front line starters with what’s left.
Haha, $10 mil isn’t even close to killing them financially, that take is just absurd. They have outfield salaries they are going to reduce in some trade capacity and have plenty of room in the payroll for two more higher end starters. You are acting like $10 mil is $30 mil.
Not at all. I’ve just been a Cardinals fan for a looooong time, and have seen them talk about spending money and not do it in recent years. It has been a blessing to be a fan of this team, and we’re all spoiled by it. That said, they aren’t crossing the luxury tax threshold. $10 million eats a big chunk out of what they could spend on what was supposed to be a very serious (and exciting) 1-2 punch. It’s likely they could have waited until February to grab a pitcher with similar outcome off the scrap heap for half that (or less), or used a young pitcher at a tenth the price. That’s what I’m getting at with balking at the $1o-11 mil. I’ll happyily eat crow if I’m wrong…but I’ll be shocked if the team spends the $50 mil more this year it would take to get a true 1-2 in free agency. If Mo loses his fear of trading prospects, they could still get a 1-2, but he’d have to lose that fear, and I don’t see that happening either. Just look at the past few years and how they’ve backed off of spending and backed out of bidding because of things that probably amounted to less than $10 million/yr differences. It’s a real dollar value with real impact in this team’s negotiations, and recent history demonstrates that well.
If the Cards are expecting anything more than a back-end innings-eater, they in trouble. Otherwise, it’s the going rate now….
inb4 that’s not all he’s gunna eat….
Lance Lynn home run ball giveaway every start. **Promotion restricted to bleacher ticket holders only.
And with that, expectations in Saint Louis are significantly lower than they were yesterday.
lmao
Cards are going for it!! Almost as pathetic as the brew crew!
Central divisions are the epitome of mediocrity. Don’t really need much to be a contender.
Why would you spend like the Mets when you need to beat the Pirates, Reds, Brewers, Cubs?
This is a high bar for mediocrity or is that low bar. Whatever this sucks.
Just compare the recent Colin Rea and Lance Lynn signings. One team is pathetic and it isn’t the Brewers.
Really?????
And we have the feel good signing that is a staple in John Mozeliak’s career. Cardinal fans will ooze all over a former player returniing regardless that he will be 37 this season and his ERA last season was 5.73. Perfect replacement for Wainwright.
You can never have too much of a good thing.
This made me grab my wife’s breast milk on accident instead of my own.
@sgordo3
Do you produce breast milk too?
Wow. At least you kept it from Lynn’s grasp. Ummm….Milk!!
As long as this isn’t the only signing, and Mo gets a quality arm like Yamamoto, Gray or Montgomery, then Cardinals fans won’t be so angry with him. But if Mo signs nothing but reclamation project pitchers, it’s going to be a rough year next year.
We need a number 1 and number 2. What just happened here? 10 million bucks for what?
Trying to chill out but I am livid right now. This is nonsense.
Lighten up Francis.
I don’t blame you, 10 million is a lot for someone like Mo that loves to penny pinch. He better sign Gray or Montgomery or else this is a waste of money.
This is just stupid. 10 million for what? This doesn’t solve any problems. We don’t need back end depth. There is a really good chance Lynn is no better than Liberatore. Or Thompson. Or freaking Hudson who was just non tendered.
I like Lynn. Should have signed him a long time ago but not now. This is dumb.
I agree @Joel P
This is a joke! Lynn is our Waino for this year. Nothing against either player but Father Time never loses. Next our ACE will be Stroman and they’ll trade for Alek Manoah and call it a successful offseason.. By July they’ll be in complete rebuild trading Goldy & Nolan A.
I hope you are lousy at prognostication..
Razz;
I’m hoping the Dodgers & Cardinals make a trade. Arenado & Edman to the Dodgers for Gavin Stone, Chris Taylor, Diego Cartaya & Maddux Bruns. If the Dodgers could get the Cardinals to pay down some of Arenado’s salary, another lower tier prospect possibly added.
I would like to see them send Arenado to LA. But that package of players you’re sending back wouldn’t interest the Cardinals. They have several Chris Taylor’s already and while I think Cartaya would be a nice addition, they wouldn’t do it for belief in Herrera and they have 3 other catchers on the 40 man.
I hope you are wrong!
I hope so too! But this move this early just smells like a rotten offseason.is coming and we know what rolls down hill from there.
Cards would need more Pitching for Arenado & Edman from the Dodgers. It would have to start with Bobby Miller then add a couple others ARMS in their top 15 prospects.. I agree they won’t want a Catcher or Chris Taylor type they have those already.. If Goldy, Nolan & Edman were dealt Cards would move Walker & Gorman to 1st and 3rd then Donovan to 2nd! They’d want top tier pitching in return and some outfielder prospects to go with Scott II, Nootbar & Burleson in the OF. Luckily I do feel a rebuild would be quick if the Cards do have to blow things up. But the fact this ownership dosn’t want to stretch the buget I’m just not hopeful for this offseaon I hope I’m WAY wrong…. Maybe they’ll shock us all and win the Yamamoto bidding and trade for Dylan Cease but I laugh at myself when I type that after knowing Lynn was signed today. LOL
That would still be a terrible outfield. Nootbaar is afraid to swing the bat unless the game is already decided one way or another. Scotts only ability is speed. I have hope for Burleson if he got a long run to be a good hitter, but they definitely don’t have the RBI production they need in the outfield. I think Chase Davis will be up this year though, I have hope for him too. But two hopes and a lot replacement level at best players.however they can’t address the outfield issue until they fix the rotation, until then no one will want to sign here.
acoss13 — I thought Montgomery left with hard feelings. If that’s so, why would he come back to the Cards?
l9ydodger — Yeah, amd I hope the Giants trade Joey Bart and Sean Hjelle for Arenado and Edman.
They now no longer have money for a 1 and 2. They’ll have to settle for a single top-tier starter and hope for the best with another reclamation or mid-tier guy.
There are players to trade. A trade for someone like Manoah or Bieber makes sense. But this Lynn signing makes no sense.
I’m hopeful for a trade was well. The only problem is, Mo is afraid to trade any prospects. Unless someone takes Carlson as the centerpiece and doesn’t ask for a top 30 prospect, a trade probably isn’t going to happen. It would be shocking to get Manoah for that. Since Bieber is a free agent next year, I suppose that could be more viable. He’d be a solid #3 starter at least…for the 20 games he’d actually be in the rotation.
Carlson and ONeill are almost certain to be dealt. I think Carlson is a good fit for both the Guardians and Jays. But it might take more than that to get a Bieber or Manoah
moe is a moron
Cards may look like Number One and Number Two on the field, if you know what I mean….
2.16 HR/9 rate, but a 19% HR/FB ratio. I’d expect him to be slightly better based on that alone, but he’s also lost about 1.5 MPH off his fastball since 2021, put up his highest walk rate and lowest K-rate since 2018, and had a 10.7% barrel rate. The barrel rate is extremely concerning given his second highest single-season rate is 6.7%. Maybe he’ll learn to adjust to the lost velo, maybe he won’t. Going into his age-37 season, it’s not a guarentee.
He’s a really odd case since he has, throughout his career, thrown almost all one pitch. The location and movement he got on that 4 seamer (and its cutter twin) were almost creepily good. But his velo is down as you point out, and hitters were not making soft contact anymore. He tried throwing a few more sliders last year, to zero effect. I dunno if a guy like that can really change.
Four-seam/cutter/sinker are the only pitches he uses more than 10% of the time. The last time he’s used any other pitch more than 10% of the time that wasn’t this trio of offerings was in 2013, that being his curveball and slider. His exit velocity and hard hit rate aren’t sigificantly worse than his career averages, but it’s the barrel rate that’s bad. Batters are simpily getting under the ball and able to launch it better now against him. His fastball and cutter, which made up 2/3rds of the total pitches he threw, had an opponent exit velocity over .500,
Hopefully he is the 1/2 part of 2 1/2 starters…
Will they be putting nets up to protect fans in the OF bleachers in St Louis?
Joking aside, I don’t understand this signing at all. He was one of the worst starters in baseball last season.
Fits perfectly with Mo’s history. Sign a reclamation project and hope for the best (but get the worst).
Releases a long mournful sigh and returns to what he was doing.
I think signing Giolito to a one-year prove it deal would have been a better option over Lynn…
The fact that the majority of posters here are excited about this is the reason Cards brass keeps making these types of moves. It works. Not to WIN of course. Just to keep Cards fans turning out at Busch. Going above and beyond to win at a high level left with TLR. It’s just slowly taken time to degrade things to level in which we now find ourselves.. What a joke.
Cards fans aren’t the ones happy on this thread. It’s the non Cards fans having fun here.
1-It seems like most of the Cards fans in here disagree with the move, vehemently.
2-Your post makes you sound like an entitled fan who doesn’t understand the rich history of the Cards.
Since 2000, they have 22 seasons playing > 500, 16 playoff appearances, 11 NLCS appearances, 4 WS appearances, and two WSC.
One season with a .438 record, and you go into a whine-a-thon.
I’m a Cardinals fan. Many of my fellow Cardinals fans *are* entitled and never happy with anything. The constant complaining and handwringing over every single move is unbearable sometimes.
There are valid complaints to hurl at this organization, but it just never lets up. A World Championship lasts about a week. After that, it’s back to bitching.
A season like 2023 just opens the door to the asylum wide open. Valid criticism is often drowned out by the craziest fans among us.
(BTW, I’m not talking about Lebowski16. I’m talking about Cardinals fandom “in general.”)
You haven’t been paying attention if you didn’t notice the winning tradition leaving with TLR. The fans support the team very well. For the last ten years the Cardinals took advantage of a very weak division to remain relevant. That just ended for two reasons, a more balanced schedule and a division of young teams on the rise.
They will either do better or watch their support plummet. I’m still waiting for an explanation of the mass exodus of good coaches and replacing Maddux with someone who has never coached at any level. Last year won’t be forgotten until they do better. Attendance will drop dramatically if they don’t.
Why is Marmol still managing? The entire coaching staff is minor league.
I’m starting to get to think it is so Mozeliak won’t have to fire managers in two years. Going into ‘23 we new it was going to be a bad year due to the lack of a rotation and that ‘24 will be worse because of a lack of top of the tier pitchers available in free agency. There is no way Marmol or any other manager will survive a worst season then last year so Oli gets to stay. Oli and Girsh (what does he even do?) will be fired mid season. Mo has two years left on his contract. It looks to me like Mo will step down a year early and let the next GM/POBO hire his next manager or manager hire his next GM. So the new regime can handle the ‘24 free agent signings and rebuild process when it’s only one year into it, rather than coming into 3 years later and having to deal with what they were left.
Yes the past is over. That is why it is called the past.
What have the Cards done lately?
As a 60 year Cardinals fan I expect a winning team every year. And that is what every fan of every team should expect. Teams should always go for it. The millions they receive says so.
The Cardinals are not doing their best to try and win.
Incorrect Joe. But, I like that you assume to know me and cast aspersions lol. Simple question. Regardless of the past are you happy with the direction the franchise is headed? Do you feel they are doing what’s necessary to legit challenge for a championship? Shouldn’t that be the bar? Attempt to honor Cards fans passion and open wallets by putting a complete product on the field? We have the resources to do so. We aren’t the Royals……Sure, you can’t achieve greatness all the time but at this point they aren’t even trying. Or, they are too stupid to right the ship (likely).
I’m sorry they’ve convinced you to be happy with past success and have zero expectations moving forward. I’ll continue to root for the birds just as I’ve done since my birth in the late 70’s. But, winning is a hell of lot more fun than returning to the days of early 90’s cards action. Results are never guaranteed. But, I at least expect an attempt to get us there. Or, an admission that they are going to take a step back to re-calibrate. I’m good with that too. But, they do neither, just keep us in purgatory.
Losing awaits for the foreseeable future. Enjoy the show man. I, for one, at least hope they make it funny. And, signing Lynn for 10mm + incentives is a start. Dude gave up 44 bombs last year. Maybe he can hit the 50 mark this year if we run him out there enough?
Regardless of the past are you happy with the direction the franchise is headed?
=======================
I’m not a Cards fan, but I did opine that they should’ve trade Arenado & Goldie last year at the trade deadline.
But whether I am right or wrong, I will give the team with perhaps the most overall success this century the benefit of the doubt. It just like with some Yankee fans. It is one bad year. EVERYONE has the occasional bad year,
I’m in agreement that they should have traded Goldie for sure. Or, at least seriously explored. But, trust me when I say Cards brass envisions him driving around Busch in a shiny red jacket into perpetuity moreso than they do winning at this point. I like him, but he could regress quickly on a team that is not going to be built to win in 2024.
On Arenado, I’m not sure what MO told him to get him to opt in when he had an out clause prior to last year. But, it was obviously a bag full of lies. I’m sure he’s not happy bordering on malcontent status. For that reason alone I would have considered moving him. That, and he would’ve netted a significant return, still would.
Your comments on past success don’t properly illustrate our current problems. Yes, as Cards fans we’ve had it good. And, we are appreciative. But, we are also smart enough to see a sinking ship. I’ve been saying this for about 5 years now. In reality the timeframe you mention had one constant, TONY LA RUSSA. He was able to do things that our current management / coaching staff cannot. And, they’ve slowly degraded the “cardinal way” that had us producing MLB worthy players on a consistent basis from the minors.
The last time we won a championship one of the main reasons was because TLR forced MO’s hand into a trade he didn’t want to make (trading Colby Rasmus). This got us pitching and ignited the run that won it for us late in the season. We still had success following his departure but it was because his guys were still in the clubhouse. And, Yadi was basically running the pitching staff. Slowly as these key guys have departed we’ve gotten worse. And, MO has been unable to replace them. MO is the poison in the well at the moment and he has all of the power. He fired Shildt a couple of years ago because he attempted to challenge him TLR style. MO is too inept to take criticism I guess.
MO and his crew are too stupid to fix all this and ownership is unwilling to dump him and bring in a new crew who can navigate the waters of 2024 MLB baseball properly. Unfortunately, that is our issue and it likely won’t be fixed until a new ownership team comes into place. Or, the current one makes some hard choices.
Except we ain’t laughing.
If he cuts down on the home runs then he is a solid #4.
Maybe he has a time machine.
Lance Lynn Time Machine coming to a ballpark near you.
Can’t wait until he comes to GABP.
I really hate this signing. Lynn’s upside is maybe a number 3 at this point. And the Cardinals need an ace and a number 2. And what is the rush? Were they lining up to sign Lynn???
I don’t get it. This is garbage.
You are being way too kind about him being a number 3 at this point.
I said he’s maybe a number 3. As in if everything goes right. He also could be DFAd by June.
Ten million for 44 bombs surrendered? Cards fans deserve better.
I’m here for the grumbling.
As a Cardinals fan I gotta say yuck. And I know I’m gonna see some crap from Sliderwitcheese shortly and not looking forward to it.
I am so happy to see fat Lance sign with St Louis, and I’m sure all the teams in the NL Central are also happy
Pitchers that were formerly pretty good can get a rather large guarantee (11 M)even coming off a year when they were mostly horrible. I thought Lynn had only 3 options going forward: retire, go to Asia or accept a minor league deal in MLB, but what do I know compared to Mo?
Sometimes when this happens it’s because the team the player signed with was the only team willing to go higher than a minor league contract. Same as a veteran signing a multi-year deal with a team because that team was the only one willing to give them an extra year. Or signing with the only team willing to give them a no trade clause.
Word is he tried to see about going to Asia, but it would have upset the Balance of Trade, weight-wise.
I’ve seen this rotation before. The 1990 Yankees had it.. These are Joe Torre Cardinals. Yikes.
Besides fat Lance stealing $10 million, the St Louis area restaurants should be very prosperous with this signing
He does it for the people.
Average order for Lance when the team is out for dinner @ a steakhouse:
3 shrimp cocktail appetizers
3 crab cake appetizers
Cowboy cut rib eye (36oz)
Bacon wrapped asparagus
Au graitin potatoes
Lobster mac n cheese
2 more crab cakes
2 items off desert cart.
Then he asks for the full menu.
“Menu for Mr. Creosote, coming right up! Care for a verrry thin mint till then, sir?”
And Dodger fans everywhere thank you.
This guy is more like 5th tier
Ah there’s that big cardinal offseason splash we are so familiar with
Haha terrible starter on a declining franchise. Perfect fit
No they don’t
Man that Cardinals ballpark must really suppress homeruns for them to sign Lynn.
Trade for Manoah and the right side of the offensive line is set.
If Manaoh leaves Canada, the Canadian “Olive Garden” will surely go into foreclosure.
Just one question. Why?
Well, Mo had to pay him bigtime to leave LA. Both the Rams and the Chargers were looking for defensive tackles.
Mo was in talks with Nola but never got far enough to make a deal, and most likely pivoted to Lance Lynn. Except Cardinals fans expected him to pivot to someone like Sonny Gray or Jordan Montgomery.
This a good signings. They need arms to eat innings this year so they can get through it. Lynn checks that box and he goes away for $1mm next year, meaning he won’t be taking up a SP roster spot so they can sign multiples from the large list of top tier FA starters available next offseason. They are a 95+ loss team this year. The plan is to build for 26, this doesn’t screw that up. It potentially helps it if he has a better year than last and can be flipped at the deadline. A very rare good job Mo.
If the plan is to build for 26, you trade Arenado and Goldschmidt for excellent pitching prospects. This is just another band aid year trying to pretend to be competitive.
I wish they would commit to a rebuild. They won’t be competing this year and probably not next year.
I agree. I think goldy is gone at the deadline and maybe arenado too. If Lynn pitches even averagely he’s gone too. I hope for the best but the cards are going to be a draft lotto team again unless like 4 more moves are made. Which I don’t envision happening. Instead of mediocrity, I’d love to see them rebuild and let the kids(walker, Winn, noot, herrera, Thompson, graceffo play and try to step up).
Arenado and Goldschmidt are both aging and declining. The window is closing on this team in a hurry, and they will have wasted what were admittedly good trades to get both. The question is, why bother with those trades if you’re never going to even try to do what you need to get them over the top? They have zero years to waste at this point. There can’t be a rebuild. Add to that the fact that this year is/was a loaded FA pitching class, and it makes no sense to wait for a rebuild when they could just sign guys in this year’s class who could help them compete now.
I agree, but you have to both want to pay the players and the players want to play for your team. Mozeliak can say what he wants, but until he actually ponies up for a top tier starter and one wants to come here, I think they should rebuild. I get what you are saying about not making the trades for nado and goldy in the first place, but I feel like this leadership isn’t out to beat everyone, they’re out to try to outsmart everyone while spending the least they can to accomplish that. Getting nado and goldy were great moves but without other big moves they were just enough to appease the fans to get the cardinal faithful in the seats. They’ve accomplished the fan part but not the outsmarting part.
This is far from a loaded free agent starting pitcher group. It arguably the worst in a long time. Next year is loaded. When the Cardinals were gifted Goldschmidt and Arenado they we the best team in a garbage division for a few years. The Cardinals play to just make the playoffs whether as a division winner or as a wild card and see what happens. They were able to do that while hiding their major flaws by simply being better than teams trying to tank. But with the division getting better and balanced schedules, they have shown their true colors. I said it at last years deadline and I still believe it. Goldschmidt should be dealt for a couple high ceiling boom or bust starting pitchers. Arizona would be a good spot where he can have a nice last year and have a chance to make the playoffs. Arenado forced his way out of Colorado and for the same reasons will force his way out of St.Louis if Goldschmidt is traded, maybe even with him because I believe Goldschmidt will have significant declines this year. They are a 95+ loss team this year and that’s ok. They need the two top of the draft picks they will get for last year and this year.
I’m withholding judgement because Lynn is a fine flyer if you’re looking at rounding out the rotation; he’s not the answer if you’re looking at him being a way to upgrade it. I think he brings a workhorse aspect to the table, and quite frankly, I’d rather have him on the mound than Jack Flaherty.
Now I’d send him to a pitching academy this offseason and work on something to reduce the HRs; if you cut those in half even, he becomes a useful asset.
News flash: It was never either Flaherty or Lance as the only options.
I’M SCARED.
Congratulations – to the 29 other teams who dodged a bullet.
I’ll add this too: When you go into an offseason needing to acquire at least three starters and the rest of the league (especially the deep pocket teams) are ALSO seeking starters, it’s probably not a bad idea to lock down one early. When the game of musical chairs ends, the Mets, Dodgers, Red Sox, Yankees, Cubs, Giants, and Rangers are going to get the cream of the crop because they have the resources, and STL will be competing with the Padres, Braves, D-Backs, Angels, etc. for a dwindling number of guys with questionable resumes..
I agree with you DeVish. Now if they can get Yoshiunobu Yamamoto, then you might feel better signing Lance Lynn. The way the Cardinals do things they might go after Michael Wacha or Jordan Montgomery next. It is going to be tough for the Cardinals to get a #1 starter.
With Lynn joining Mikolas, Matz, Goldschmidt, Contreras and Arenado, the Cardinals are looking like a strong team circa 2018. Anyone think they can get Kluber and Foltynewicz this offseason too?
Marco Gonzales for Tyler O’Neil, who says no??
I read the Mariners were shopping Gonzales and need an outfielder. There gm loves to trade. I’d like to see it. Has it ever happened before where 2 players were traded for each other straight up twice?
NO from both teams.
$10 million for a washed up pitcher. Guess starters are in short supply.
I don’t think there has ever been an abundance of starting pitching in the history of baseball
could this make sense if he’s slotting into the ‘pen?
Cards don’t pay middle relief 11 mil a year. Least not knowingly. He was signed to be a starter. Scary thing is Mo talked about 2 starters and 3rd guy being relief / spot starter but I don’t think thats the intention with Lynn. Hopefully I’m wrong!
Exactly! Hudson would have made more sense in the pen even. Just tender him and go to arbitration with confidence.
This is what happens when a GM and front office is gun shy, because they have burned themselves in past trades and FA signings. Living in STL and not being a Cardinals fan, I can tell you anything short of them getting a top of the rotation guy will look like the village coming after Shrek except the Cards GM will be Shrek. .
Same old story cards won’t spend
Same old story always going to do and never do cards fans have had enough at less I have
Good signing at a good price.
liking this agreement for both sides
In a vacuum, this isn’t a bad deal. The Cardinals needed innings and Lance Lynn provides innings. Busch Stadium should also suppress some of HR issues from a season ago. Not a bad buy low candidate, assuming the Cardinals sign someone of Gray’s ilk, or better AND trade for a quality guy. Not good if they are relying on Thompson, Liberatore, and Lynn as 3/5 of their starting rotation in 2024. Time will tell.
It will be a deal in a vacuum. Because it’s likely to suck big.
I’ll say this – the Cards were never going to fill out substantial rotation upgrades through free agency. I still hope they sign one of Montgomery or Gray. But if they add another arm that will actually move the needle it will be with a trade. They aren’t going to outbid the field for the top free agents.
I think the impending Doomsday scenario with streaming TV scares Witt, so he is guarding the ownership group’s money.
There is a saying amongst gamblers.
“Don’t gamble with scared money”
I am a little surprised, did not expect him to sign so early, kind of seen him being a late February early March as a veteran # 4 or 5 starter to fill out a rotation. Definitely see him as a 2024trade deadline piece. Also, if he gets off to a bad 2024 April May start would not be surprised to see him be a ala Baumgarner outright release.
This is a perfect example of the front office , get rid of your only reliable arm , let him pitch his best years for somebody else , then when he is available cheap , sign him again
Front office is thinking right now , rotation is set , what’s next .
Not Bad. Cardinals Swooped In !!
Isn’t this the third year in a row that we have had a retirement tour for a Cardinal player?
I just hope he doesn’t have a band to play with after the season.
Wainwright 2.0. They now have Mikolas, Matz, and Lynn as their 3,4, and 5 starters. Just need a 1 and 2 and they are set.
Unfortunately they have their 1, 2 , and 3 starters
INNINGS EATER Lance Lynn counts as two starting pitchers because he steps on the scale around 280Lbs.
Kyle Gibson must be next and maybe Julio Urias??
Too much money for the cheapskate Cardinals.
$10 mil for Lynn?! This acquisition exemplifies just how desperate the Cardinals are.
John Mozeliak: “Hello Lance, it’s John Mozeliak of the Cardinals. Would you be interested in returnig to St.Louis?”
Lance Lynn: “You had me at ‘Hello”
Interestingly, the Cardinals were on the list of teams Lynn could not be traded to without his approval last year due to his limited no trade clause. But that doesn’t really mean anything. Usually when guys get limited no trade clauses, the teams they pick are the teams they suspect they’re most likely to get traded to, so they can have some leverage if a trade does happen.
Regardless of Lynn’s personal feelings towards the organization they gave him $10 million reasons to come back, likely more than anyone else was offering
One of the few guys that can help increase the Cardinals rotations’s ERA
I can’t wrap my head around letting Dakota Hudson walk and paying 10 million to a pitcher on the decline with known issues of keeping the ball in the ballpark. I would have rather had Hudson and sunk the funds into at least one Ace. Unless they plan on completely going much beyond what the budgets have been running in recent seasons this move just does not make sense and will not help the fans start enjoying games again.
Lance Lynn not even listed in the top 50 FA according to MLBTradeRumors. Zack Greinke is probably considering signing on too.
At least Greinke has more than one pitch.
The McLynn is back!
Smug, out of shape richard. Not a fan at all. Good luck Cards.
BowMo does it again! when do season tix go on sale?
As a Cardinals fan I’m dumbfounded; he’s a 5-slot, 4 at best arm whose good days are fewer and fewer. And maybe it’s me but I think getting that spot filled in your rotation early – and getting no discount or even decent break money-wise – is completely asinine. I’m going to bet that come late January a better younger pitcher will be available at half the price. Time for Mozzarella to go because I’m cheesed off.
Hopefully the $10M is deferred over 10 years…
What a waste
The Cards need a new GM more than Any player,
Even Ohtani
Can’t wait to see Ollie Marmol walk to the mound and takes Lynn out after 4 2/3rds and tells him it’s because his analytics staff told him too…..
Relax people. Like or not, this team is in rebuild mode. There were practically no numbers 1 pitchers available in free agency this year and the two that were (Ohtani and Snell) the cardinals were never going to get. They can’t get the outfield bats the desperately need because those guys won’t want to sign for a last place team. The farm system is empty, they don’t have the trade chips to acquire sure thing top of the rotation pitcher. So Lynn is a smart move. He’s here for a year to eat innings and get them through the season. Then his roster spot comes back available to sign from the better pitching class of ‘24
Ohtani isn’t technically a pitcher this coming year.
Maybe that Missouri meth can get him below 3 bills.
Kabloomy. Not even Thanksgiving yet and the Cards are already down 5-0 in the top of the first
bro accepted the offer faster than he ever lost a pound of weight
It’s a good move.
I love Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn. Just great signings for the Redbirds. Not that they both were trash last year or anything.
I’ll take Greinke over Lynn.
LA Lost Again. Always nice to see
It’s a GM’s call: bullpen games or Lynn.
72 of Lynn’s 136 career wins were with the Cardinals from 2011 to 2017. During that time he had a 3.38ERA, 3.64FIP and 1.288WHIP. After becoming a full time starter in 2012 he averaged 32 starts a year, with at least 60% of them being quality starts.
↘️ Since leaving the Cardinals in 2018 Lynn has a nice 64-48 record, but a 4.12ERA while averaging 26 starts with 49% of them being quality starts. In twelve years Lance has pitched two hundred innings just three times.
Lynn had a 5.73ERA last year in 32 starts over 183 innings with 191 strike outs. He won 13 games, generated a decent amount of whiffs and in his last sixteen starts allowed just three or fewer runs ten times. After being traded to the Dodgers Lynn started 11 games winning seven of them with a 4.36ERA, 1.266WHIP and allowing two earned runs or less in six of them.
For his career Lynn has a 3.44ERA in the National League vs 4.10 as an American League starter. At this point I think moving back to his old team and sticking around in the National League is a good idea. This is evident in opposing hitter averages after the trade from the White Sox and in his post season career.
Cardinal Nation will love to hear the post game interviews again. Lynn was classic.