Report: Nationals interested in Lynn
With the starting-pitching market still waiting to materialize, the Washington Nationals are reportedly interested in adding free-agent right-hander Lance Lynn to the rotation, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
In his return from Tommy John surgery last year, the 30-year-old Lynn posted a 3.43 ERA and 4.82 FIP over 186 1/3 innings with the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite missing all of 2016, Lynn has thrown at least 175 innings in each season since 2012.
While Rosenthal notes the Nationals are up against the $197-million luxury-tax threshold heading into next season, signing Lynn may be an option that still keeps the club underneath the soft salary cap in a way that signing top free agents like Jake Arrieta or Yu Darvish may not.
According to Baseball Reference, the Nationals' 2018 payroll is projected to be $176.5 million including arbitration figures, which seems to indicate the Nationals could afford a contract worth $20 million in average annual value without surpassing the first luxury-tax threshold.
That being said, the Nationals did breach the luxury tax for the first time in their club's history last year, and were forced to pay $1.45 million. With penalties escalating for continued overages, a big signing may be out of the question for the reigning National League East winners.
The Nationals had the third-best starting rotation in all of baseball last year, according to FanGraphs' WAR. With Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Tanner Roark all returning for the 2018 campaign, Lynn would presumably fill the fifth and final spot in Washington's rotation - a spot that saw Joe Ross and Edwin Jackson combine for 26 starts last year.
After rejecting a qualifying offer from the Cardinals, Lynn has notably drawn interest from the Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles.