As of Friday afternoon, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitching depth is razor-thin.
Clayton Kershaw just announced he got a procedure on his pitching shoulder and will be out until the summer, Dustin May is also rehabbing a long-term injury, Julio Urias is on administrative leave and with a murky status, and now Lance Lynn will be a free agent.
The last one was a Dodgers choice, though.
“The Dodgers have declined right-hander Lance Lynn’s $18 million club option for 2024, a source tells The Athletic. He will receive a $1 million buyout. A reunion is still possible between the two sides. Dodgers expected to be in the pitching market this winter,” Dodgers insider Fabian Ardaya tweeted.
The Dodgers have declined right-hander Lance Lynn’s $18 million club option for 2024, a source tells The Athletic. He will receive a $1 million buyout.
A reunion is still possible between the two sides. Dodgers expected to be in the pitching market this winter.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) November 3, 2023
Lynn had a 5.73 ERA in 183.2 innings last year between Chicago and LA.
With the Dodgers, he had a more decent 4.36 ERA, but there was no way the team was willing to pay $18 million to get him back in 2024.
As Ardaya explains, there is still a chance (a big one, really) he returns next year but with a much, much lower salary.
Only Bobby Miller and Ryan Pepiot can be counted on to start games next season, and you might add Emmet Sheehan to that list.
A team like the Dodgers needs more than eight capable starters, perhaps even ten.
They may not have even half of that total at the moment of writing this piece.
Luckily for them, the offseason is still very young and they have been known to get some bargains from time to time.
NEXT:
Dodgers Executive Lays Out The Plan For Clayton Kershaw