Cardinals seek 'maximum flexibility' by declining Gibson, Lynn options

The St. Louis Cardinals aren't picking up their 2025 options on Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, or Keynan Middleton, club president of baseball operations John Mozeliak announced Thursday.

Mozeliak said the team made those decisions in pursuit of "maximum flexibility," according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Cardinals signed all three pitchers to one-year contracts last offseason with club options for 2025. Had their options been picked up, Gibson, Lynn, and Middleton would have made $12 million, $11 million, and $6 million next year, respectively.

Lynn, 37, had the best season of the bunch, pitching to a 3.84 ERA (109 ERA+) across 117 1/3 innings. Gibson gave the Cardinals 30 starts and 169 2/3 innings with a 4.24 ERA and 1.35 WHIP.

Middleton didn't pitch at all in 2024 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right forearm.

The Cardinals ranked 12th in MLB with a $175.9-million payroll this past season, according to Spotrac.

St. Louis missed the playoffs with an 83-79 record.