Lance Lynn joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in a mid-season trade with the Chicago White Sox, but he struggled to turnaround a home run happy 2023 campaign.
The veteran right-hander opened up the season with Chicago, where he posted a 6.47 ERA and 1.46 WHIP with an .837 on-base plus slugging percentage allowed. Lynn maintained his ability to rack up whiffs, tallying 10.83 strikeouts per nine innings over his first 21 starts.
Lynn was a prominent name at the Trade Deadline, mainly because of a lack of big-name movement. The Dodgers took a flier on him, sending Nick Nastrini as the main prospect in a package that brought the veteran right-hander and Joe Kelly out West and into a playoff race.
After four starts, Lynn owned a 3-0 record with his new club, carrying a 1.50 ERA while striking out 25 hitters. He did allow four home runs, but the rebound did not last.
In his Dodgers tenure, Lynn posted a 4.36 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and a .238 batting average allowed. He was snake bitten by the long ball in the second half, allowing 16 in his final 11 starts of the year, which continued a trend he dealt with all season.
The Dodgers named Lynn as the Game 3 starter in the National League Division Series, where he allowed four home runs in the third inning. His performance sent the club home in a 3-0 series sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Lance Lynn 2023 highlight
His best start of the season came while with the White Sox on June 18 when he struck out 16 batters over seven innings against the Seattle Mariners.
The right-hander allowed three runs in the outing, but his high punchout total was the most by any starting pitcher during the 2023 regular season.
2024 outlook
The 36-year-old tagged onto the St. Louis Cardinals roster on a one-year, $11 million contract that holds a club options for the 2025 season.
He returns to the same organization where he was drafted in 2008. He should continue making starts and eating innings for a Cardinals’ rotation that was desperate for that last season, but Lynn is unlikely to be anything more than a back-end starter at this point in his career.
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