St. Louis Cardinals Place Lance Lynn on Injured List, Ending Veteran's Season

Lance Lynn is dealing with right knee inflammation again, so the St. Louis Cardinals have elected to shelf the 37-year-old right-hander for the remainder of the 2024 campaign.

Sep 17, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn (31) reacts after an inning-ending double play against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis have placed right-handed pitcher Lance Lynn on the 15-day injured list with right knee inflammation, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.

With just 12 days left in the regular season – and St. Louis 7.0 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot – Lynn is done for the rest of 2024.

Lynn only recently returned from another stint on the injured list, missing six more weeks of action due to right knee inflammation. He hit the shelf on July 31, started a minor league rehab assignment on Sept. 1 and ultimately rejoined the Cardinals' rotation on Sept. 11.

The 37-year-old righty tossed 5.0 innings of one-run ball against the Cincinnati Reds that day, then he allowed one earned run in 6.0 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday. In the two starts he made in September, Lynn went 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA, 1.091 WHIP and 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

Lynn will finish the season 7-4 with a 3.84 ERA, 1.338 WHIP, 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.4 WAR. The Cardinals went 15-8 in his 23 starts, including 12-2 across his final 12 outings.

RHP Michael McGreevy has been recalled from Memphis (AAA).

RHP Lance Lynn has been placed on the 15-day IL (right knee inflammation). pic.twitter.com/PNbHYZCaWv

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 18, 2024

Lynn, who was drafted by the Cardinals in 2008 and remained in the organization through 2017, made his way back to St. Louis this past offseason after spending time with the Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. That gave him the opportunity to surpass 1,000 strikeouts in a Cardinals uniform, which he did back on June 30.

The Cardinals inked Lynn to a one-year, $10 million contract last November, building in an $12 million club option with a $1 million buyout for 2025. Lynn could have earned an additional $1 million if he had reached 170.0 innings this season, plus another $1 million if he made it to 190, but he ultimately only tossed 117.1 as a result of his knee problems.

It remains to be seen if St. Louis will pick up Lynn's option, considering his advanced age and the lack of youth elsewhere in the rest of the rotation. The veteran did post seven quality starts and 14 games scores of 50 or above, though, so he could still prove a steady hand as the Cardinals try to reshape their pitching staff heading into 2025.

Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, Erick Fedde and Steven Matz are all under contract for next season, while Kyle Gibson boasts a $12 million option and $1 million buyout similar to Lynn's.

Lynn was named an All-Star in 2012 and 2021, finishing top-six in AL Cy Young voting every season between 2020 and 2022. Max Scherzer, Zack Greinke, Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw are the only MLB pitchers with more starts than Lynn since 2012.

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