ST. LOUIS, Mo., November 21, 2023 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have signed free-agent right-handed pitcher Lance Lynn to a one-year contract that includes a club option for 2025, reuniting the hurler with his original drafting organization.

Lynn, 36, was originally selected by the Cardinals in the 1st round (39^th overall) of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft out of the University of Mississippi.  He pitched for the Cardinals from 2011-17 posting a 72-47 record with a 3.38 ERA over 977.2 innings with 919 strikeouts.

“We are excited to have Lance back with the Cardinals, he was a big part of our success when he was here,” stated Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak.  “Lance brings a veteran mindset, built on durability, experience, and his ability to work a high volume of innings.  His addition is an important piece as we continue assembling our rotation and roster for next season.”

Over his 12-year Major League career, Lynn is 136-95 with a 3.74 ERA cumulating 1,889.0 innings with 1906 strikeouts and has started 317 games.  He currently ranks in the top-10 among active Major League pitchers in wins (136, 7^th), games started (317, 8^th), innings pitched (1,889, 8^th), strikeouts (1906, 9^th) and opponent batting average (.243, 10^th).  His ERA (3.74) ranks 12^th among actives.

A member of two Cardinals World Series qualifying teams, Lynn appeared in relief in 10 postseason games for the 2011 World Championship squad as a rookie, and made three postseason starts for the 2013 National League Champions.  He currently ranks second all-time in Cardinals postseason appearances with 24, trailing only Adam Wainwright’s 29.

Lynn’s 919 career strikeouts as a member of the Cardinals ranks 11^th in club history and he is one of six Cardinals pitchers with five seasons of 150 or more strikeouts along with Bob Gibson (11), Adam Wainwright (8), Chris Carpenter (5), Steve Carlton (5) and Dizzy Dean (5).  Since becoming a starting pitcher in 2012, Lynn posted three seasons with 200 or more innings pitched, coming in 2013, 2014 and 2019; two of those with the Cardinals.

In 2023, Lynn ranked among the top-25 in Major League Baseball in innings pitched (183.2), strikeouts (191) and wins (13), while splitting the season with the White Sox and Dodgers.  He was 7-2 in his 11 starts for the Dodgers to finish the season, recording seven quality starts while limiting his opponents to three earned runs or fewer in 9-of-11 starts.

Since signing as a free-agent with the Minnesota Twins in 2018, Lynn has also pitched for the Yankees, Rangers, White Sox and Dodgers from 2018-23.  He was a member of two All-Star teams (2012 with the Cardinals and 2021 with the White Sox) and was an American League Cy Young Award finalist in 2019, 2020 and 2021.