Cardinals $11 Million Vet Surprisingly Predicted To Return In 2025

St. Louis has some decisions to make in the near future

Jun 13, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn (31) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images / Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have made it known that they are planning on making changes this winter.

St. Louis is in a transition year. Chaim Bloom will take over the president of baseball operations role after the 2025 season ends. The Cardinals are looking to rebuild their farm system and that means that some trades are on the way and the team likely will put plenty of young players on the field in 2025.

Although plenty of changes are coming, the Cardinals still are going to need to fill out the organization even if they want to cut payroll. There has been plenty of speculation about who could leave the organization. One player who consistently has been mentioned as someone not expected to return is veteran hurler Lance Lynn.

While this is the case, FanSided's Zach Pressnell made the opposite prediction and called Lynn one of three players who could return in 2025.

"Lynn, 37, had a pretty okay season last year, Pressnell said. "He was worth just over 0 WAR, sitting slightly in the positives. He tossed 117.1 innings across 23 starts, posting a 3.84 ERA, 4.31 FIP and a 1.34 WHIP. His ERA+ was 109, good for an above-average ERA in the league, but his FIP and WHIP numbers indicate that he was getting a bit lucky.

"Lynn is set to play a majority of the 2025 season at the age of 38. It's almost a guarantee that when pitchers begin nearing the age of 40 that they fall off drastically. Given his age and his FIP being so much higher than his ERA, regression should be expected for Lynn. The Cardinals would be better off making room in the rotation for a free agent or a young pitching prospect like Tink Hence."

St. Louis has an $11 million club option for the 2025 season that many have predicted the team will turn down. If the Cardinals want to embrace the youth movement, it certainly would make sense to let Lynn walk.

We should find out more in the near future, but it would be more likely to see him playing elsewhere in 2025.

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