From Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch comes word that right-handed starter Lance Lynn had to make an early departure from his Grapefruit League debut Sunday against the Marlins due to a left hip flexor strain. Lynn was also looking at his right hand as he walked off the field with a team trainer, suggesting that he may also be dealing with a blister.
The right-hander will be reevaluated on Monday.
Hip flexor strains come with a wide range of recovery timetables, from a couple of days to several weeks.
If this turns out to be a severe strain, the Cardinals can turn to either Jaime Garcia or Marco Gonzales for some April rotation turns. That presumes Carlos Martinez is already locked into a spot.
Lynn, 27, posted an excellent 2.74 ERA with 181 strikeouts in 203 2/3 innings last season.
He signed a three-year, $22 million contract extension with the Cardinals in January.
*******************
UPDATE, 3:15 p.m. ET: Some good news, perhaps, via MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch …
Lance Lynn downplays hip flexor injury, seems convinced he’ll be ready to make his next start as scheduled. #stlcards
— Jenifer Langosch (@LangoschMLB) March 8, 2015
