By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today | @cbrown_STLBBT | July 27, 2017, 5:35 pm CT
After his start on Tuesday against the Rockies, in which he allowed one run in six innings, Lance Lynn stood in the Cardinals clubhouse and said to reporters, “We’re four games back, I’m not going anywhere.”
While Lynn may be right, the Cardinals are most certainly listening to offers for the 30-year-old starter, who’s in the last year of his contract.
Lynn has been the most rumored candidate to be traded by the team at the deadline, and with the team 3 1/2 games back in the NL Central headed into their game Thursday night, it’s no certainty that Lynn will make his next start, scheduled for Sunday, in a Cardinals uniform.
Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported Thursday morning that the Cardinals’ decision on trading Lynn “will be based entirely on whether (the) team gets (the) right offer,” and will not be affected by Adam Wainwright’s recent injury or the club’s recent encouraging performance.
[Report: Cardinals “actively looking” for reliever, monitoring Lynn market and eyeing bat]
The Astros, Rockies, and Royals have been reported among the teams expressing interest in Lynn.
Rosenthal wrote that the situation presents a “complex equation” for the Cardinals, who want to improve both for this season and down the road. He added the team may not make Lynn a qualifying offer this offseason, instead choosing to spend the roughly $18 million they would offer Lynn for other parts of the team.
In his first season since undergoing Tommy John surgery, Lynn has posted a 8-6 record and 3.21 ERA across 120 2/3 innings.
Whether he throws another inning in a Cardinals uniform, at this point, remains up in the air.
[Molina responds to Matheny comments: “I’m not tired and the day I feel tired I’ll express it myself”]
