It remains to be seen how many more starts Lance Lynn will make for the White Sox, who with every loss and missed opportunity to cut into their enormous deficit below .500, accelerate toward sellers mode as the Aug. 1 trade deadline approaches.
It’s not known what Lynn, whom the Sox signed to a two-year, $38 million extension in July 2021 with a club option for next season, would bring in a trade. The dominant force that he was against the Blue Jays in a 6-2 loss in 11 innings Thursday was one thing. The pitcher who owns a 6.03 ERA this season is another.
At 36, Lynn’s diminished velocity (92 mph) has forced him to expand and vary his repertoire, which worked to the tune of 11 strikeouts in seven innings of scoreless, one-hit ball. It came three starts after a franchise-record-tying 16 strikeouts June 18 in Seattle. Lynn’s 11 strikeouts per nine innings this season is a career high.
“To be honest, I’ve got more stuff now than I’ve ever had in my career,” Lynn said. “It’s kind of a weird feeling. The numbers and ERA, as bad as they are, there’s a lot of good I’ve done. It just doesn’t look it.”
Lynn entered the game leading the American League in home runs (22) and earned runs (69) allowed, then looked nothing like that pitcher while getting 25 swings and misses against the Blue Jays.
A top-six Cy Young vote-getter from 2019 to ’21, Lynn has been far from the bulwark rotation piece the Sox bargained for this season, aside from a couple of dominant performances. That said, interested trade partners will note his experience and strikeout rates and see him benefitting from pitching in front of a better defensive team than the Sox.
“There’s a lot of great things Lance does not found in the ERA,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “His presence, maturity, experience, understanding of what the club needs every single day he pitches is critical for what we need to do.
“He was just outstanding,” Grifol said of Lynn’s start Thursday.
If Lynn goes elsewhere, he likely won’t be the only Sox player to get moved out of town. Starters Lucas Giolito and Mike Clevinger and veteran relievers Kendall Graveman, Joe Kelly and Keynan Middleton will have varying degrees of demand from contenders in the trade market.
“That’s the business of it,” Lynn said.
In Lynn’s case, the return will depend on how much a suitor is willing to pay what’s left of his contract and a $1 million buyout. The Sox, if willing to eat most or all of the deal, would essentially be paying for prospects for their thin farm system. In any case, Lynn will more likely be a Plan B or C for contenders when other options are exhausted, even in a thin starting-pitching market.
These are difficult times for the Sox’ front office, which is not in an enviable position as it comes to grips with a failed rebuild that produced nothing more than a wild card and a division title and went 0-for-2 in postseasons. Thursday’s loss in Game 1 of a doubleheader dropped the Sox to 37-51, returning to their previous season low of games below .500.
Giolito, the Sox’ best starter, becomes a free agent after the season, and the club has given no indication of wanting to extend him, which makes him their best trade chip. The risk is waiting too long and missing an opportunity to sell, but the Sox also know many teams will be in the playoff hunt looking to upgrade.
“At the trade deadline, you’re either going for it or you’re out of it,” Lynn said. “So hopefully we can put a nice stretch together here and make them add and we can have a chance to make a run at it. We’ve got to win games.
“All in all, I wish I had a better first half, but there’s still a lot left.”
