Lance Lynn, closer? Evidently, some teams like the idea.
Lynn, 37, has not pitched out of the bullpen since 2018. But his agent, Kevin Lustig, recently informed him that several clubs asked if he would be interested in pitching the ninth inning.
“He said, ‘I got a couple of weird calls today.’ I was like, ‘What? Did someone ask me for a minor-league deal?’” said Lynn, who remains a free agent. “He started dying laughing. He was like, ‘No, they asked what you thought about being a back-end guy, a closer.’
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“I went, ‘Oooooh. Is the second act, the final act of my career, closing games?’ It sounds fun. I was kind of joking with my wife about it. She was like, ‘Cool, I don’t have to be at the start of games. I can just come halfway through and watch you at the end.’”
Lynn said he is “intrigued” by the possibility of getting the final three outs. Years ago, he recalls Tony La Russa, his former manager with the St. Louis Cardinals, telling him, “you have closer mentality.” Lynn, whose competitive streak is well-established, said, “I’m not surprised that it’s something that around the league people see.”
Several clubs are still looking for late-innings help. Detroit Tigers general manager Scott Harris, after signing free-agent reliever Tommy Kahnle on Wednesday, said he was still looking to upgrade his bullpen. Arizona Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen recently made the same acknowledgment.
The Los Angeles Angels have told at least one agent they have two or three bullpen spots to fill. The Cincinnati Reds might want to create competition for Alexis Díaz, who was inconsistent last season.
Kenley Jansen, David Robertson and Kyle Finnegan are among the back-end types who remain free agents. Lynn is less established as a reliever, but not unfamiliar with pitching late in games.
As a rookie, Lynn worked the eighth inning for the Cardinals in Game 7 of the 2011 World Series, retiring the Texas Rangers’ Josh Hamilton, Michael Young and Hall of Famer Adrián Beltré in order before yielding to Jason Motte, who closed out the 6-2 victory.
Lynn made five relief appearances in that series, earning the win in Game 3. He became a starter the following year, and since 2011 ranks sixth in the majors with 2,006 1/3 innings, behind only Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner. Last season, he produced a 3.84 ERA in 23 starts for the Cardinals but pitched only twice after July 30 due to right knee inflammation.
Some teams still like Lynn as a starter. He could make sense for the San Diego Padres, or the Rangers in a sixth-starter, long-relief role. But the free-agent market remains crowded with starters, including Jack Flaherty, Nick Pivetta and Scherzer, plus Andrew Heaney, José Quintana and Kyle Gibson.
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“You always love starting because, I always tell everybody, it’s the best gig in all of sports,” Lynn said. “But if you’re not starting and have the ability to get outs in high-leverage situations at the back end of games, there’s no bigger thrill than that, either. I definitely have the fire for it. It would definitely be fun.”
Lynn, who is 6-foot-5, adjusted his training regimen this offseason to avoid further knee issues, and said he dropped from 280 pounds into the 250-to-255 range. He still would make for an imposing presence coming out of the bullpen. But at this point, he is not even considering what his entrance song might be.
“Let’s see where this takes us,” Lynn said, chuckling. “We haven’t gotten that far yet.”
(Top photo of Lance Lynn: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)
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