Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak recently met with starting pitcher Lance Lynn to discuss Lynn’s future with the team, which is “fluid,” Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. The Rockies, Royals and perhaps Astros could have interest in Lynn, so a trade is possible, particularly if the 47-49 Cardinals fall further out of the playoff race. But they could also keep him and make a run at the playoffs. Lynn has played with the Cardinals throughout his six-year career. This season, he has a 3.30 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 114 innings. He’s eligible for free agency next winter. Here’s more from the NL Central.
- The Pirates have announced that they’ve placed outfielder Gregory Polanco on the 10-day DL with a hamstring strain. To take his place on the active roster, they’ve promoted lefty Steven Brault from Triple-A Indianapolis. Polanco left Friday’s game against the Rockies due to hamstring trouble. Polanco got off to a slow start this season but has hit .387/.406/.629, his hot streak roughly corresponding with the Bucs’ recent streak of winning play as a team. The Pirates have John Jaso, Jose Osuna and Adam Frazier to man the corner outfield while Polanco is out.
- The Reds completed the most crucial stage of their rebuild in the last 13 months, Zach Buchanan and C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer write. “You say talent acquisition is part of the rebuild,” says GM Dick Williams. “It really is the rebuild. That’s what it is all about, dedicating as much of our resources as we can to a large influx of talent in a short period of time.” They’ve had two strong draft classes led by 2016 first-rounder Nick Senzel and 2017 second overall pick Hunter Greene, and they’ve spent heavily on Latin American players like Victor Ruiz, Vladimir Gutierrez, Alfredo Rodriguez and Jose Israel Garcia.