Los Angeles Dodgers free agent Lance Lynn has signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals that contains a 2025 club option, bringing him back to his previous team

The Cardinals first selected Lynn, a University of Mississippi product, with the 39th overall pick in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft. Between 2011 and 2017, he pitched for the Cardinals, recording a 3.38 ERA in 977.2 innings pitched and 919 strikeouts.

John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations for the Cardinals, stated, “We are thrilled to have Lance back with the team. He was a big part of our success when he was here.” “Lance’s veteran mentality is based on his endurance, wisdom, and capacity to pitch a lot of innings. His inclusion is a crucial component as we work to put together our roster and rotation for the upcoming campaign.

In 2023, Lynn divided the season between the Chicago White Sox and Dodgers, pitching 183 innings with a 5.73 ERA, 5.53 FIP, 191 strikeouts, and a 1.39 WHIP. In addition, he gave up an MLB-worst 44 home runs allowed, and in his only postseason appearance, he gave up four more.

Following his trade to the Dodgers, Lynn appeared to be on the rise, making seven strong starts and allowing his opponents to score three runs or fewer in nine of his eleven appearances. But in the end, he fell back to levels that were lower than his White Sox performance.

Throughout the course of his 12-year Major League tenure, Lynn has accumulated 1,889 innings pitched and 1,906 strikeouts with a 3.74 ERA. In terms of wins (136, 7th), games started (317, 8th), innings pitched (8th), strikeouts (9th), and opponent batting average (.243, 10th), he presently stands in the top-10 among active Major League pitchers. Among active pitchers, his ERA (3.74) is ranked 12th.

The 36-year-old has thrown for the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, White Sox, and Dodgers before joining the Minnesota Twins as a free agent in 2018. He was a finalist for the American League Cy Young Award in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and he was an All-Star with the White Sox in 2021.

Lance Lynn’s Cardinals careerLynn was a member of two Cardinals World Series qualifying teams. As a rookie, he made 10 playoff appearances in relief for the 2011 World Championship team and three starts for the 2013 National League Champions. With 24 postseason appearances for the Cardinals, he is presently second all-time behind only Adam Wainwright’s 29.

Lynn is one of six Cardinals pitchers with five seasons of 150 or more strikeouts, along with Bob Gibson (11), Wainwright (8), Chris Carpenter (5), Steve Carlton (5), and Dizzy Dean (5). His 919 career strikeouts as a member of the Cardinals rank 11th in club history.

Lynn has had three seasons with 200 or more innings pitched since turning pro in 2012; two of those seasons were spent with the Cardinals. The other two were in 2013 and 2019. In 2012, the seasoned player was also chosen for his first All-Star Game.