THREE NEW PITCHERS REBUILD REDBIRDS’ ROTATION

By BILL BALLEW

Lance Lynn Sonny Gray Kyle Gibson

John Mozeliak knew what needed to be done even before the curtain fell on the 2023 season. The Cardinals president of baseball operations had watched his team’s pitching staff, particularly the starting rotation, struggle due to a variety of reasons over the course of the campaign. If the situation was going to be different in 2024, he would have to navigate the tricky waters of free agency with the skill of the most seasoned ship captains.

Mozeliak proved he was more than up to the challenge. While a handful of teams were focused on the free agency of Shohei Ohtani and the masses were celebrating Thanksgiving, Mozeliak filled three spots in the rotation with veteran pitchers during a six-day span in late November. His efforts resulted in the signings of Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson and Sonny Gray, a trio that combined for 36 victories and 531 strikeouts last season.

“You think back to 2023—and we’ve unpacked it a hundred different ways—we knew it didn’t go well,” Mozeliak said. “We tried to figure out where we could improve, and the rotation was really glaring to us. When we were looking at the trade market and the free agent market, we identified guys that understood what it’s like to go pole to pole and understand what it’s like to take the ball. And from a cultural standpoint, all three of these guys will be a great asset in our clubhouse.”

One of the two hurlers signed on November 21 is a familiar face. Lynn joined the professional ranks in 2008 when the Cardinals drafted the righthander in the first round out of the University of Mississippi. He made it to St. Louis in 2011 and pitched seven seasons with the Redbirds, posting a 72-47 record with a 3.38 ERA and 919 strikeouts in 977 2/3 innings.

“Lance had a great beginning of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals,” Mozeliak said. “He went away in free agency, but we’ve brought him back and are hoping to catch some of that magic with him again.”

Lynn reached the major leagues in June 2011 and played a key role for a Cardinals team that won the World Series. After missing time with an oblique injury, he returned to make 10 relief appearances in the postseason, going 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 11 innings. All-Star honors followed in 2012 when Lynn won a career-high 18 games and ranked third in the National League with an average of 9.20 strikeouts per nine innings. He helped guide St. Louis to the World Series once again in 2013 with a 15-10 record and a 3.97 ERA prior to matching his won-lost record in 2014 but lowering his ERA to 2.74, good for ninth in the NL.

The righthander added another solid showing in 2015 when he allowed two runs or fewer in 21 of his 31 starts and notched a 12-11 record with a 3.03 ERA. While ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow cost Lynn the entire 2016 season, he bounced back the following campaign to tie for first in the NL with 33 starts and rank sixth in opponent’s batting average (.223) and seventh in ERA (3.43) while posting an 11-8 record.

A free agent for the first time in his career, Lynn signed with Minnesota just prior to the start of the 2018 season and posted a combined 10-10 record with a 4.77 ERA while dividing his time between the Twins and Yankees. He spent the next two seasons with Texas and finished fifth in Cy Young Award balloting in 2019 and sixth in 2020 while going 22-14 with a 3.57 ERA as a Ranger. Lynn joined the White Sox in 2021 and garnered the second All-Star recognition of his career while posting an 11-6 mark with a 2.69 ERA in 28 outings. He added an 8-7 record with a 3.99 ERA in 2022 prior to splitting the 2023 slate between Chicago and Los Angeles and winning 13 games. Dealt to the Dodgers at the trade deadline, Lynn was 7-2 in 11 starts with Los Angeles and allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine of his outings.

In 12 major league seasons, Lynn ranks seventh among active pitchers in wins with a 136-95 record, eighth with 317 starts and 1,889 strikeouts, and ninth with 1,906 strikeouts. His .243 opponent batting average is good for 10th among active starters and his 3.74 ERA ranks 12th. Lynn, who is second all-time in Cardinals’ postseason appearances with 24, is 11th in St. Louis annals with 919 strikeouts. He also has thrown 200 or more innings on three occasions in his career, a fact that was not lost upon Mozeliak prior to signing the veteran pitcher.

“Lance brings a veteran mindset, built on durability, experience, and his ability to work a high volume of innings,” Mozeliak said. “His addition is an important piece as we continue assembling our rotation and roster for next season.”

Lynn signed a one-year contract with a club option for 2025, which is the same arrangement the Cardinals have with Gibson, who helped lead Baltimore to the American League East Division title last season. The owner of a 15-9 record with a 4.73 ERA, the righthander tied for first in the AL with 33 starts, tied for third in wins, ranked sixth with 192 innings pitched, and tied for 10th with 17 quality starts. An 11-year veteran in the major leagues, Gibson’s 15 wins and 33 starts represent his career-highs.

“Like Lance, Kyle has shown the ability to eat innings,” Mozeliak said. “He also will be a great mentor and leader in our clubhouse.”

Gibson owns a career record of 104-100 with a 4.54 ERA and 1,359 strikeouts in 1,696 innings. A starter for 294 of his 300 contests in the major leagues, the righthander pitched for Minnesota, Texas, and Philadelphia prior to spending last season with Baltimore. Drafted by the Twins in the first round in 2009 out of the University of Missouri, he went 67-68 in seven seasons with Minnesota prior to signing as a free agent with the Rangers in 2020. He was sent to the Phillies at the trading deadline in 2021 after earning his first All-Star recognition earlier in the campaign. In addition to making four of career postseason appearances (all of which have come in the last two years), Gibson has won 10 or more games eight times, made at least 29 starts in nine of the last 10 campaigns, and is one of four active pitchers with 100 or more strikeouts in nine of the last 10 seasons, joining Jacob deGrom, Clayton Kershaw, and Max Scherzer.

Aside from his baseball prowess, Gibson is an active member in the community. He is a three-time Roberto Clemente Award nominee and was the recipient of the 2017 Carl R. Pohlad Community Service Award. The pitcher also serves as the vice president of former Cardinal pitcher Adam Wainwright’s Big League Impact charitable foundation.

The addition of Gibson and Lynn was bolstered even more on November 27 when the Cardinals signed Gray, who entered free agency as one of the market’s most coveted pitchers. Gray inked a three-year deal that includes a club option for 2027. And not unlike Gibson and Lynn, Gray helped guide his previous employer to the postseason last year. In fact, he was the AL Cy Young Award runner-up to New York’s Gerrit Cole after ranking second on the junior circuit with a 2.79 ERA while notching an 8-8 record with 183 strikeouts in 184 innings and 32 starts for AL Central Division champion Minnesota. Gray also displayed his ability to keep the baseball in the ballpark, allowing only eight home runs for a major league-best 0.39 homers per nine innings ratio, the lowest mark by any starting pitcher in a single season with 180 or more innings pitched since 2013.

“Like our recent free-agent additions, Sonny is a pitcher that can be counted on to provide innings depth, veteran major league experience, and most importantly, he had a strong desire to pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals,” Mozeliak said.

Gray echoed Mozeliak’s comment after signing by saying St. Louis was one of the primary spots he and his family had circled when the free agent process began. He added that situations rarely come together as hoped but is thrilled that the pieces to the puzzle fell into place as fast as they did with the Cardinals.

“I’m very excited about being a Cardinal,” Gray said. “St. Louis is a very easy place to live, a good place for families. And everyone knows about St. Louis and the Cardinals and the culture and the organization and the winning tradition. All those things were very important to us in the process and for it all to come about is amazing.”

A three-time All-Star who has made six postseason starts, Gray was a first-round pick of the A’s in 2011. He reached the major leagues two years later and toiled with Oakland prior to being traded to the Yankees in 2017. The righthander proceed to spend three seasons with the Reds and the last two with the Twins. In 11 big league seasons, he owns a 98-85 record with a 3.47 ERA over 270 career starts and nine relief appearances. In addition to his runner-up spot in the AL Cy Young Award balloting last season, Gray placed third in the AL in 2015 and seventh in the NL in 2019 for the same recognition. He ranks seventh among active pitchers with a 3.47 ERA and .230 opponent’s batting average, 10th with a 1.20 WHIP, 18th with 1,571 innings pitched, and 20th with 1,521 strikeouts and a .536 winning percentage.

Gray, Gibson, and Lynn will join Miles Mikolas in the St. Louis rotation, which will give the Cardinals four of the top 25 hurlers in innings pitched from 2023. Should that quartet continue to produce in a similar fashion this season, chances are good that St. Louis will return to a more familiar spot in the standings by competing for the NL Central Division championship and a postseason run in October.