Pitcher In Negotiations with Cubs Ends Up Retiring

Almost three weeks ago veteran starting pitcher Lance Lynn was reportedly in contract negotiations with the Cubs according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale. Well, maybe we'll eventually find out how real those talks were, but for now it looks like Bob pulled a Bob because Lynn has announced his retirement.

The 37-year-old pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024, and actually had a nice bounce-back season following some major regression in 2023. Lynn posted a 3.84 ERA in 23 starts and according to Nightengale the Cubs were interested in signing him. Nothing came of it. The Cubs named Ben Brown as the team's No. 5 starter to begin the season, while Colin Rea was moved to the bullpen.

It really never made much sense to bring in Lynn for the Cubs.

It turns out that either there wasn't much interest in Lynn around the league or he simply didn't find a good match. So, after making his MLB debut in 2011, Lynn is calling it a career.

Former #WhiteSox pitcher Lance Lynn announced his retirement on his wife’s podcast ‘Dymin in the Rough’

Lynn was 25-22 with a 4.23 ERA in 3 seasons with the Sox, making an All-Star team and finishing 3rd in AL Cy Young voting in 2021.

— Ryan McGuffey (@RyanMcGuffey) April 1, 2025

The right-hander posted a 3.74 ERA in 2,006.1 innings. Lynn was a two-time All-Star, won a ring with the Cardinals in 2011, and pitched for six teams in his 13-year MLB career.

(Previous Update)

The only way this remotely makes sense is if it turns out that someone else on the pitching staff suffered an injury that has not been made public yet or maybe Javier Assad had a setback returning from his oblique strain. Other than that I have no idea why the Cubs are seriously considering signing Lance Lynn.

There was a report out there in The Athletic last week that the Cubs were keeping an eye on Lynn along with fellow right-handed starter Kyle Gibson. Well, it turns out that there was interest by the Cubs because according to USA Today's Bob Nightenagale the Cubs are now in active negotiations to sign Lynn.

Honestly, the thing that's most bothersome to me on this recent development is that if the Cubs do sign Lynn it will reportedly be an MLB deal. Listen, I'm probably not going to like the addition of Lynn no matter what, but at least if it was a minor league contract there wouldn't be a guarantee that he'd be on the active roster.

An MLB deal means Lynn would automatically be on the 40-man, bumping someone off the minute he signed.

The Chicago Cubs, looking for starting rotation depth, have now entered negotiations with veteran Lance Lynn on a one-year, MLB contract.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 13, 2025

Lynn, 37, pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024. Here's the thing, it's not like Lynn was horrible or bad, he was quite solid, posting a 3.84 ERA in 117.1 innings. A knee injury sidelined Lynn during the summer, cutting his season down to 23 starts.

And sure adding more pitching depth is a good thing. Yet, signing Lynn and essentially guaranteeing him innings would not sit well with me if it means that he's taking an opportunity away from guys like Jordan Wicks or Ben Brown. Assad could be ready to go sometime in April, so would he just be stuck at Triple-A, too?

By the way, I guess pursuing Lynn now wouldn't necessarily mean he'd be on the Opening Day roster at the end of March, Not exactly sure how ready Lynn currently is, so he may need a few extra weeks to build up on the mound. We'll see what comes of this rumored pursuit.