ST. LOUIS -- Though he'll be throwing about 50 pitches in a rehab assignment start with Double-A Springfield on Wednesday, Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn, who is little more than nine months removed from Tommy John surgery, characterized his chances of a late-season return as "very slim."
"I won't be able to do anything really that's going to help benefit the team," Lynn said. "We're treating it as rehab and kind of like a mini Spring Training so that when I go into Spring Training next year, I will be ready. There are always maybes if everything goes well, but the plan is to get through the rehab and get ready to go for next year."
In two appearances with Class A Advanced Palm Beach last week, Lynn threw 63 combined pitches over 3 2/3 innings. He allowed four hits, three runs (one earned) and struck out four. Lynn did all this without any discomfort, which was the most encouraging result of all.
The build-up process will continue with Wednesday's outing in Springfield and then two more in yet-to-be-determined affiliate locations. As of now, Lynn does not have plans to continue making game appearances beyond the end of the Minor League regular season.
He won't risk his recovery, either, by overexerting himself simply for the outside chance that he could return to the Cardinals this season.
"Right now I've been focused on the throws and pitch count, but haven't been working on pitching," Lynn said. "I'm going to get the strength back and then go into the offseason where I can work on everything else. That was the plan -- to get done with the rehab by the end of the regular season so that I could be normal going into the offseason and start when I normally do."
Worth noting
• The Cardinals will have a representative at Tim Tebow's tryout, which is scheduled for next Tuesday. Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and a former NFL quarterback, recently announced his desire to play professional baseball. The 29-year-old last played organized baseball in high school.
• Adam Wainwright will hold his fourth annual Big League Impact fantasy football live draft at Busch Stadium on Friday. Fans who participate will have an opportunity to play fantasy football against Cardinals players and other celebrities. Among those committed to participating are Stephen Piscotty, Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday and St. Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. All proceeds from the event will benefit Cardinals Care, Operation Food Search of St. Louis, Crisis Aid International and Big League Impact's Global Initiative. For more information about the event, visit bigleagueimpact.org.
• Major League Baseball has released its 2016 postseason schedule, and it includes an Oct. 5 date for the National League Wild Card Game. The Cardinals entered Tuesday positioned in the second Wild Card spot. The club played in the inaugural Wild Card contest in 2012 and beat the Braves to advance to the NL Division Series.