Milwaukee Brewers: Stay away from Lance Lynn

With Jimmy Nelson expected to miss a considerable amount of time next season, the Milwaukee Brewers have a gaping hole in their rotation. With the Winter Meetings fast approaching this will surely be an area the team looks to shore up.

There are numerous options available on the open market to help fill the void of losing Nelson. The Milwaukee Brewers could make a splash by signing former Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta. They could also choose a more affordable option and sign a player like Alex Cobb.

Another name that has been connected to Milwaukee is Lance Lynn. If there is one player the Crew should avoid, it should be Lynn. The Brewers have twice before poached an arm from the division rival St. Louis Cardinals.

After the disastrous returns from the Jeff Suppan deal, and the mediocrity that was Kyle Lohse, do we really want to go down that road again? Lynn has had his success with the Cardinals since debuting in 2011. However, he is far from being considered an ace.

Why not Lynn?

Lynn missed the entirety of the 2016 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He came back to start 33 games this season going 11-8 with a 3.43 ERA in 186 1/3 innings pitched. Not exactly numbers showing he’s worth a big contract.

For his career Lynn has a 3.38 ERA while compiling 72 wins against only 47 losses. He has managed to pitch more than 200 innings in two separate seasons, but his durability definitely has to be in question.

Along with the durability questions, Lynn has seen his fastball velocity gradually decrease since his debut. He is no longer a fireballer throwing in the mid to high 90’s. He averaged only 92.6 MPH in 2017, as opposed to 94.2 MPH when he debuted.

For his career, Lynn has also been known to give up his share of dingers. Last season he surrendered a whopping 27 home runs, he has given up 17 a season on average in his career. This would not bode well for him pitching in a hitters park like Miller Park.

Without question the Milwaukee Brewers need to fill the void left by the injury to Nelson. There is more than enough room in the payroll to afford to sign a frontline starting pitcher. However, with a number of quality arms in the minors, signing Lynn could stunt the growth of our younger pitchers.

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If the Brewers decide to sign a starting pitcher, they need to swing for the fences. Settling for a player like Lynn could do more harm than good. Lynn is a decent pitcher, but he is not the player that will push this team to that next level.