There may not be a more consistent pitcher in baseball, when healthy, than Lance Lynn. So what is the market for the 30-year-old free agent, who proved to be his durable self after returning from Tommy John surgery in 2017?
There is "a healthy market" for Lynn, according to MLB.com's Jon Morosi, that includes at least four teams: the Twins, Angels, Orioles and Brewers.
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When a team will pounce on Lynn, who spent his first six seasons with the Cardinals, remains unclear. Morosi reported that while there is interest in Lynn, the teams may balk until they receive clarity on their first choices in the starting-pitcher market, namely free agents Jacob Arrieta and Yu Darvish.
Both of those righties certainly provide more upside than Lynn. But there is a case to be made that Lynn will be more reliable over the long term. His 2016 season aside, Lynn has thrown at least 175 innings over each of his past five seasons. Neither Darvish nor Arrieta can come close to saying that.
And Lynn has been productive, going 72-47 with a career ERA of 3.38. He's posted a single-season ERA as low as 2.74 and never higher than 3.97.
The teams interested in Lynn aren't a surprise. The Twins are rumored to be in on nearly every free-agent starter as they look to return to the postseason in back-to-back seasons. The Brewers also see themselves rising into a window of contention, and they could use another arm. The Angels are in a similar boat. And the Orioles have more starting-pitching holes to fill than most.
"I'm hearing a number of teams are, in fact, pursuing him," Morosi reports. "But I do get a sense teams may be waiting on their first choices."