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MLB Rumors: Lance Lynn could reunite with Cardinals in free agency

The Los Angeles Dodgers have declined the $18 million club option for RHP Lance Lynn, who will subsequently receive a $1 million buyout, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. The Dodgers could still re-sign Lance, but he is expected to hit the open market with the potential for several interested suitors.

It should come as no surprise that Los Angeles declined Lynn's option. The 36-year-old managed 32 starts last season, split between the Chicago White Sox and Dodgers. He finished the season 13-11, but he posted a career-worst 5.73 ERA and saw his strikeout rate plummet — especially with LA after the trade deadline.

Lynn's fastball velocity ranked in the 22nd percentile last season, per Baseball Savant, and he had a tendency to give up hard-hit balls (barrel percentage in the 13th percentile). It's clear Lynn doesn't have the same stuff that earned him three consecutive top-six Cy Young finishes between 2019 and 2021.

Still, any player with Lynn's résumé is going to have suitors. Few make more sense than the St. Louis Cardinals, who are in need of a pitching staff overhaul after a disastrous 2023 campaign. Lynn spent the first six years of his career in St. Louis and he is thus familiar with the ballpark. One has to imagine the Cardinals will at least do their due diligence and consider the possibility.

If not St. Louis, Lynn figures to field calls from a number of contenders in need of an extra arm — think Atlanta, Houston, or Philadelphia, as well as the still-present Dodgers.