The Cardinals are planning to activate right-hander Lance Lynn from the 15-day injured listing on Wednesday, as famous by The Athletic’s Katie Woo. Lynn will take the ball for a begin in opposition to the Reds in St. Louis when he returns to motion. The veteran right-hander has been on the injured listing for simply over a month resulting from a bout of knee irritation.
Lynn, 37, pitched decently sufficient for the Cardinals in 21 begins previous to happening the IL. In 106 1/3 innings of labor, he posted a roughly league common 4.06 ERA (105 ERA+) with a 4.46 FIP and a 20.8% strikeout charge. Lynn pitched fairly properly for St. Louis all through the primary half however his numbers took a pointy flip for the more serious in July, when he pitched to a 6.27 ERA and seven.04 FIP in simply 18 2/3 innings of labor throughout 4 begins.
Even with that ghastly efficiency in his final 4 begins hitting the IL, nonetheless, his general numbers this season are significantly better than they had been in 2023 and roughly corresponding to the 2022 marketing campaign, when he posted a 3.99 ERA (99 ERA+) and three.82 FIP in 21 begins. Whereas the veteran right-hander is now not near the identical pitcher who posted a sterling 3.26 ERA (146 ERA+) and three.39 FIP with a 27.5% strikeout charge and three consecutive top-6 finishes in AL Cy Younger award voting from 2019 to 2021, he’s nonetheless confirmed to be a succesful back-end rotation possibility after a disastrous 2023 season the place he struggled to a 5.73 ERA (77 ERA+) with a 5.53 FIP in 183 2/3 innings of labor.
Given Lynn’s worth as a gradual back-of-the-rotation arm and the Cardinals’ lack of beginning pitching depth headed into 2025, it’s no shock that the membership would need Lynn to make a couple of begins down the stretch as they consider whether or not to choose up their $12MM possibility on his providers for subsequent yr or decline the choice in favor of a $1MM buyout. They’ve an an identical choice on their fingers relating to fellow veteran righty Kyle Gibson, who has pitched to a 4.39 ERA (97 ERA+) with a 4.26 FIP in 26 begins with the membership throughout his age-36 season this yr.
With these selections looming after the season involves an in depth, the Cardinals additionally determine to make use of the previous few weeks of the season to guage right-hander Andre Pallante’s viability as a long-term rotation possibility for the membership. The 25-year-old’s 4.07 ERA (105 ERA+) and 4.08 FIP aren’t particularly spectacular, however he’s appeared very spectacular since shifting from the bullpen to the rotation in late Might with a 3.81 ERA and 4.00 FIP in his final 87 1/3 innings of labor unfold throughout 16 begins. Workers ace Sonny Grey and longtime veteran Miles Mikolas each look like entrenched of their present rotation roles as properly, and that’s left southpaw Steven Matz because the odd man out of the membership’s rotation image.
In response to Woo, the lefty is about to be out there out of the bullpen beginning tomorrow, after making only one begin since getting back from a prolonged journey to the injured listing that worn out 4 months of his 2024 marketing campaign. The 33-year-old signed with the Cardinals on a four-year, $44MM deal previous to the 2022 season however that contract hasn’t panned out as he’s struggled to a 4.61 ERA (98 ERA+) regardless of a strong 3.98 FIP. He’s additionally been restricted to simply 185 1/3 innings of labor over the previous three years by accidents and a number of strikes to the bullpen, and figures to behave as a back-end rotation possibility and lengthy aid arm for the membership as soon as once more in 2025, relying on the wants of the roster and the lefty’s efficiency.