Pirates Linked to Former All-Star Pitcher
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The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the more impressive young starting rotations in baseball, headlined by Paul Skenes and Jared Jones.
However, given the youth within the Pirates' rotation and that some guys may be on innings limits, it wouldn't hurt Pittsburgh to add a veteran.
The Pirates aren't exactly a free-spending organization, but there are some arms remaining on the free-agent market that should not cost all that much.
John Perrotto of Pittsburgh Baseball Now has revealed a potential candidate for the team, urging the Pirates to sign former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn.
"Lynn was limited to just 23 starts and 117.1 innings last season with the St. Louis Cardinals because of knee problems," Perrotto wrote. "However, he was 7-4 with a 3.84 ERA while striking out 109. Lynn also logged 183.2 innings in 2023. At 37, Lynn fits the description of a grizzled veteran. Yet the 6-foot-5, 280-pounder is still an intimidating presence on the mound and a respected figure in the clubhouse. Lynn would be an asset to a team short on leadership and accountability."
Pittsburgh fans have certainly become accustomed to Lynn, who has now served two tours of duty with the Cardinals. He broke into the big leagues with St. Louis back in 2011 and spent the first seven years of his career with the Redbirds and then ultimately made his way back this past season.
Lynn, who has two All-Star appearances under his belt, has also pitched for the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.
In spite of turning into something of a journeyman during the back half of his career, Lynn has remained an asset and finished third in Cy Young award voting as recently as 2021, when he logged a 2.69 ERA while registering 176 strikeouts over 157 innings with the White Sox.
The Indianapolis native lays claim to a lifetime 3.74 ERA.
Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.