The 10 Cardinals with the most to prove during Spring Training

Lance Lynn

Lance Lynn had an excellent beginning to his Major League career with his six seasons in St. Louis, posting a 3.38 ERA in 977.2 innings for the club. He was a World Series champion in his rookie season in 2011 and was a critical part of their rotation for their deep playoff runs in the years following, and now returns to St. Louis as a veteran presence in the clubhouse.

Lynn is coming off the worst season of his career, posting a 5.73 ERA while giving up a league-high 44 home runs between his time with the White Sox and the Dodgers. The Cardinals believe they have found some things in Lynn's game they can adjust before the season that will help him regain his success from years prior, but he'll ultimately have to prove it on the mound.

The Cardinals are hoping that Lynn can be a guy they rely on to go "pole to pole", making over 30 starts for them and doing deep into ball games on a consistent basis. But they also really hope to see an uptick in production as well, as Lynn still has the stuff to be more than just an innings eater if he is firing on all cylinders.

Lynn has a club option for 2025, so his performance this season could lock him into another year with St. Louis, or could potentially be the last season of his career. Lynn is a competitor by nature and someone who wants to prove everyone wrong with how his 2024 season went. A motivated Lynn should produce better results in 2024, and that will go a long way toward helping the Cardinals' rotation rebound this year.