St. Louis Cardinals veteran starting pitcher Lance Lynn is set to rejoin the team this week after spending all of August on the IL. Manager Oliver Marmol told reporters his return will send Steven Matz out of the rotation and into the bullpen.
Veteran Cardinals Starter Set To Return, Sending Another To Bullpen
Lynn’s Return
Lynn is slated to return to the Cardinals on Wednesday and start against the Cincinnati Reds. This will be Lynn’s first start since July 30th with a right knee injury when he fell fielding a ground ball against the Texas Rangers.
Lynn made one rehab start on September 1st with the Cardinals AAA affiliate Memphis Redbirds against the Iowa Cubs. It didn’t go great for the 37-year-old right-handed starter. Lynn gave up five runs over 3.2 innings. He threw 80 pitches, 54 for strikes, and struck out eight while walking two.
Before the injury, Lynn started 21 games and had a 4.06 ERA with a 6-4 record and 97 strikeouts. Lynn pitched an average of five innings per outing this year.
Matz To The Bullpen
Matz missed three months of the season with a lower back strain. He returned September third with a strong start. Against the Milwaukee Brewers, he picked up the win with 4.2 innings pitched while surrendering three runs. He had seven strikeouts, giving up three hits—two of which were home runs. The next start for Matz was against the Seattle Mariners. He picked up the loss, giving up two runs in four innings.
So far this season, Matz has a 5.94 ERA in eight starts and a 3-5 record. Marmol told reporters that Matz will head to the bullpen with Lynn’s return. The left-handed starter will presumably be a middle-inning reliever, and the bullpen’s back end has been one of the team’s few bright spots this season.
Questions For The Rotation Moving Forward
Since Matz’s return, the Cardinals have utilized a six-man rotation. Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson, Miles Mikolas, Erick Fedde, and Andre Pallante all have retained starting spots in the rotation.
Both Lynn and Matz are not guaranteed spots in the 2025 rotation. Lynn has a team option on his contract for 2025. Matz is entering the final year of his deal. Mikolas and Fedde are both entering the final year of their contracts in 2025 as well. Gibson has a team option for 2025.
Gray seems to be the only certainty entering 2025. The Cardinals best starter has a guaranteed contract through 2026 with a team option for 2027. Pallante is under team control for four more years. The Cardinals do have a pair of highly-ranked prospects. Tink Hence and Quinn Mathews could push for a spot in the 2025 rotation.
The final weeks of the season could prove valuable for evaluating the team’s rotation in 2025. Matz has been underwhelming with the Cardinals. In the offseason, the organization will have to decide if Matz should be a starter, in the bullpen, or if the Cardinals should try to move him to another team.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals have to decide whether they will pick up Lynn and Gibson’s contracts for next year. Gibson will be 37 next year, and Lynn will be 38. Both pitchers have been serviceable in 2024. Gibson has pitched 27 games with a 4.20 ERA over 154.1 innings, and Lynn has pitched 106.1 innings with a 4.06 ERA.
Main Photo Credits: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
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