The St. Louis Cardinals welcomed veteran pitcher Lance Lynn back from the injured list on September 11 after he spent nearly a month and a half on the IL. Lynn’s return to the rotation after recovering from right knee inflammation went very well. The 37-year-old righty dominated in two starts going 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA, 1.091 WHIP and 12 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Lynn landed back on the 15-day injured list with another bout of inflammation in his right knee, according to St. Louis Cardinals on X. The team will recall right-handed pitcher Michael McGreevy from Triple-A Memphis to take Lynn’s place.

With just 11 games remaining on the schedule entering play on Wednesday, Lynn’s season is over. And it could be his final year in St. Louis. The Cardinals signed Lynn to a one-year, $10 million deal prior to the 2024 season. It’s unknown if the team will offer Lynn an extension for his age-38 season next year.

If this is Lynn’s final campaign with the Cardinals it would mark the end of a successful run with the team that included two different stints and a total of seven seasons of his 13-year major league career.

Lance Lynn will hit the IL, ending his season and possibly his time with the Cardinals

Sep 11, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn (31) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at Busch Stadium.
Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Despite struggling with injuries, the two-time All-Star enjoyed a bounce back season in St. Louis. Lynn went 7-4 with a 3.84 ERA, 1.338 WHIP, 8.4 K/9 and an ERA+ of 110 in 23 starts. It was his best performance since he finished third in Cy Young Award voting in 2021 as a member of the Chicago White Sox. He posted career best marks in ERA (2.69) and ERA+ (163) with 5.5 bWAR that season.

In seven seasons with the Cardinals, Lynn went 79-41 with a 3.43 ERA, 1.293 WHIP, 8.4 K/9 and an ERA+ of 114. He had 1,028 of his 2,015 career strikeouts and pitched 1,095 of his 2,006.1 career innings.

The Cardinals were hoping to bounce back from a losing season in 2023 and get back to the playoffs this year. St. Louis is one game over .500 at 76-75. The team is 11 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers, who have clinched the NL Central. The Cardinals remain seven games back in the National League Wild Card standings with three teams ahead of them for the final postseason berth. The team will miss the playoffs for the second time in the last six years.

It’s been another disappointing campaign in St. Louis. The Cardinals were buyers at the trade deadline but ultimately remained on the outside looking in, going just 26-29 since returning from the All-Star break. Fans seemed to recognize the team was playing out a lost season as the organization set the record for the lowest attendance in Busch Stadium history last month.