The 2015 MLB season just ended a little over a week ago, and already the St. Louis Cardinals are having to deal with an injury ahead of next year.
The team announced Tuesday that Lance Lynn had Tommy John surgery and will be absent for the entirety of the 2016 campaign.
Lynn went 12-11 in 31 starts during the regular season, finishing with a 3.03 ERA and a 3.44 FIP, per Baseball-Reference.com. The 28-year-old then made one appearance in the postseason, allowing one earned run in an inning pitched.
Sporting News' Jesse Spector and MLB.com's Mike Petriello illustrated how unpredictable serious elbow injuries can be for major league pitchers:
At least the Cardinals now have an entire offseason to try to fill Lynn's spot in the starting rotation.
MLB Network's Dan Plesac speculated St. Louis will now make an even harder push to sign one of John Lackey or Jordan Zimmermann. ESPN.com's David Schoenfield threw out Zack Greinke and David Price as options as well, citing a heightened desperation from the Cardinals to bolster the pitching staff after shoulder issues ended Carlos Martinez's season prematurely.
The timing of the injury is somewhat troublesome for Lynn, though. He'll earn $7.5 million over the next two seasons and will become a free agent ahead of 2018. Ideally, he'll be back to full health with an entire year to recover, but that is never a guarantee.
Both the Cardinals and Lynn will hope he can contribute in a meaningful way once Opening Day rolls around in 2017.
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