The St. Louis Cardinals made a specific effort to boost their starting rotation this past offseason.

St. Louis had one of its worst seasons in recent memory in 2023 and one of the biggest reasons why was because of a thin starting rotation. The Cardinals dealt with injuries and struggled out of the gate. Although the Cardinals had some talent with Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty, they traded them away ahead of the deadline.

The Cardinals looked to reload this past offseason and did so by signing Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson, and Lance Lynn. St. Louis’ rotation has been in a better spot but the team still is in last place in the National League Central with a 9-12 record.

The trade deadline still is a few months away but speculation already is starting to pick up. Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer compiled a list of needs for multiple clubs and options to fill the holes. Surprisingly, he mentioned Cardinals hurler Lance Lynn as an option for the Atlanta Braves in a possible trade.

“Speaking of contenders that are looking at going the rest of the year without their No. 1 starter, Atlanta is likely to end up in that boat as well,” Rymer said. “There’s still no official word on what awaits Spencer Strider, but we know he has a damaged UCL in his right elbow. That typically means Tommy John surgery, and he’s already had one of those…

“Potential Solutions: Jesús Luzardo, José Quintana, Lance Lynn, Frankie Montas…Lynn is not to be dismissed out of hand, however. He’s always good for bulk innings if nothing else, and so far this year he has a 2.63 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings.”

Lynn has a club option for the 2025 season but could be a free agent at the end of the season if he chooses. While this is the case, at this point it would be extremely unlikely to see St. Louis trade Lynn — especially to Atlanta.

St. Louis spent the offseason looking for ways to improve the starting rotation. It wouldn’t make much sense to trade away the players they signed to do so.