What does Lance Lynn’s injury mean for the Cardinals? What the road ahead looks like

The risk looming in the background of the strategy employed by the St. Louis Cardinals last offseason – the risk looming behind all pitchers, really – is that an ill-timed injury might crop up among their group of veteran starters and throw the season for a loop.

Sonny Gray’s spring hamstring hiccup aside, the Cardinals had managed to avoid that flip of the coin until Wednesday morning when Lance Lynn was placed on the 15-day injured list with right knee inflammation.

Rookie Michael McGreevy was recalled from Triple-A Memphis to take Lynn’s spot on the active roster and start Wednesday’s series finale against the Texas Rangers, and will presumably be returned to the minors on Thursday when new acquisition Erick Fedde reports to the club in Chicago.

“His knee’s barking. It’s been barking,” manager Oli Marmol said Wednesday, echoing Lynn’s own description from Tuesday’s postgame. “He landed on it last outing [on July 23] where he really felt that he was able to finish [his start]. Duct taped him together yesterday for that start and he was able to give us five, but he’s going to need a little bit of time to let that thing get back to normal.”

Marmol said that the injury isn’t expected to be season ending and will not require surgical intervention. For the moment, Lynn has been prescribed rest, and his spot in the rotation will be filled by Fedde.

Andre Pallante, who has pitched well since seizing a rotation slot at the end of May, will remain in that spot despite the Cardinals moving at the deadline to bring in an additional starter. Indeed, Marmol acknowledged that the ongoing concern about Lynn was part of the driver that pushed the team to aggressively pursue a starter at the trade deadline.

“It was good for him to make his start [Tuesday],” Marmol said, acknowledging that he was surprised Lynn was able to complete five full innings in the 8-1 victory over the Rangers. “There’s a reason McGreevy is throwing today, and it allows everybody else an extra day of rest because it’s needed at the moment.”

With a rainout against the New York Mets rescheduled for what had previously been an off day on Monday, August 5, the Cardinals are in the midst of 16 consecutive days with scheduled games as they fight for playoff positioning down the stretch.

“It’s part of the season,” Marmol said. “Guys have done a nice job. They’ve earned someone else taking today’s start and then getting backed up and getting ready to go.”

The need for fresh arms was further reinforced by the team’s decision to not spend even one day potentially shorthanded in the bullpen. Chris Roycroft was optioned to Memphis on Wednesday after having pitched each of the last two days and replaced by fellow rookie Ryan Loutos.

Deadline acquisition Shawn Armstrong, acquired from Tampa Bay in exchange for Dylan Carlson, will also report to the team on Thursday in Chicago and will presumably take Loutos’ spot on the roster.

“Righty arm that we’ll use,” Marmol said of Armstrong. “If you look at the guys that we have – [Kyle] Leahy, Roycroft – we’ve used them all interchangeably down, up [the lineup]. Another righty arm that we can use based on matchups.

“He’s been around. He understands what gives him success, and I think you put him in this ballpark and allow him to do what he does.”

Marmol also acknowledged that the waiting period ahead of the trade deadline and the expectation of additions created a degree of tension that was noticeable in the clubhouse. Teams feed on additions and investment from the front office, and the “attitude” that permeated the dugout on Tuesday night was punctuated by Tommy Pham’s game-clinching grand slam in his return to St. Louis.

“There’s a certain intensity to that, and the game looked different yesterday,” he said.

McGreevy’s major league debut starting Wednesday’s game is the first at home for a Cardinals pitcher since Mike Mayers’ historically disastrous first outing on July 24, 2016. Earlier this season, fellow 2021 draftee Gordon Graceffo’s first start came in the second game of a doubleheader, and the Cardinals intentionally cut it short after one turn through the lineup in an attempt to avoid overexposing him.

Lynn’s ability to gut out five innings on Tuesday, along with the stresses of the current schedule, make that a more difficult plan to execute with McGreevy, Marmol explained.

“You have to be super mindful of this long stretch and making sure guys are fresh,” he said.

Fedde’s addition goes to freshening the rotation and Armstrong’s toward freshening the bullpen. Between Leahy, Loutos, Roycroft, and the rehabbing Riley O’Brien, the Cardinals have now built what they believe is sufficient depth to carry them into October as they pursue a division title and, ultimately, a deep run into the postseason.

Lynn’s injury makes that more challenging, but those sorts of eventualities are hard to avoid in a sport where pitching attrition reaches every team at some point or another.

“This is what we’ve got,” Marmol said of his team’s post-deadline realization. “This is what we’re rolling with, and let’s roll.”