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Signing Lynn a necessity for Cardinals

A little more than two weeks ago, all of baseball was scratching it’s head when the St. Louis Cardinals opted to stand pat at the non-waiver trade deadline.
Aug 16, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn (31) throws a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

A little more than two weeks ago, all of baseball was scratching it’s head when the St. Louis Cardinals opted to stand pat at the non-waiver trade deadline.

It was an almost universal assumption that the team would move free agent-to-be Lance Lynn. With expectations that Lynn will command deal in the vicinity of a five year/$20 million deal, it’s tough to say whether the Cardinals would be willing to gamble on him for five more years.

In hindsight, however, the inability to move Lynn has been a blessing for the Cards.

With injuries piling up and the recent struggles of the bullpen, having Lynn to turn to every fifth day has been a key to the team’s recent success.

Lynn has been dominant over his last 10 starts dating back to June 29. Over the period, Lynn is 7-3 with a 1.93 ERA. He’s surrendered only four home runs while facing 240 batters and a meager 13 earned runs. The bullpen almost beat that on Friday night alone.

Lynn, who came up through the Cardinals farm system, has frankly been the teams’ most consistent arm in the second half of the season.

There are a mountain of reasons to justify signing Lynn to a multi-year deal ­— for instance Adam Wainwright.

While Wainwright is currently on the disabled list for what they believe to be a minor issue, the fact is he isn’t getting any younger.

Wainwright has struggled through some issues this year and some of that is likely just the result of years of work in the game. Players get older and become less effective.

Lynn turns 31 in May, but there’s no reason to think he’s going to regress soon. He’s crossed 100 pitches in 12 starts this year — including 123 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in May and 110 Thursday against the Boston Red Sox.

He has plenty of fuel left in the tank.

Another reason for hanging on to Lynn, is because without him, the 2018 rotation is a big question mark. Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha (who is working out some issues), Wainwright (assuming the current medical reports are accurate). That leaves Mike Leake, who hasn’t been impressive and doesn’t seem to have a reason for it, and Luke Weaver, who still isn’t proven.

Lynn would make a solid anchor on a staff that might very well need that role filled. They might not, but there’s no denying this team is stronger with Lance Lynn than without him.

If the Cardinals were to decide to replace him outside the organization, I’m not sure they’ll find an option cheaper than Lynn that would be an upgrade.

Jake Arrieta will be available but he’ll command about the same deal and I would argue Lynn to be the better of the pair. Frankly, that’s the story with a lot of the names available.

Sometimes, the smart play is to stick with what you know, and I think that’s the case here.

Corey Noles has covered the Cardinals and MLB for a variety of publications and outlets since 2011. Find him on Twitter @coreynoles, or via email at coreynoles@att.net.

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