The St. Louis Cardinals had four players file for salary arbitration on Tuesday, but they settled the score with perhaps the most important player in that group. Meanwhile, the MLB will continue to test out ways to speed up the game in the minor leagues.
According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Cardinals and starting pitcher Lance Lynn have avoided arbitration with a three-year, $22 million contract on Thursday. The 27-year-old right-hander was in his first year of arbitration eligibility and was due a big raise up from his $535,000 salary from 2014. He had a career year this past season after finishing 15-10 with a 2.74 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 33 starts with St. Louis in just his third full year as a starter.
Earlier this week it was speculated Lynn would land the biggest payday for a first-year arbitration-eligible pitcher. Former Florida Marlins pitcher Dontrelle Willis holds the record after agreeing to a one-year deal worth $4.35 million back in 2006. However, the Cardinals took the more prudent route and will avoid the rest of Lynn's arbitration years by paying him a little over $7 million per season.
In 119 career games (97 starts) in his first four seasons, Lynn is 49-28 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. He's also 5-4 in the postseason with a 4.41 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in 23 games (seven starts).
As for the rest of the league, after the MLB owners' meeting earlier this week, it has been reported the pitch clock will slowly make its way into the game. According to Robert Murray of MLB Daily Rumors and FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal and Jon Morosi, a 20-second pitch clock will be implemented at Double-A and Triple-A in 2015 after it was used in this year's Arizona Fall League. However, the clock will not be used at the major league level just yet.
In addition to the pitch clock, other experimental time-reducing practices will be implemented in the minors. These include (1) requiring hitters to keep one foot in the batter's box; (2) a time limit on pitching changes; and (3) a limit on breaks between innings.
According to Teddy Cahill of MLB.com, the pitch clock and other time-reducing measures debuted in the AFL back in October in a game between the Salt River Rafters and Surprise Saguaros, which lasted only two hours and 14 minutes.
UPDATE: According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, digital timers will indeed be installed in all Double-A and Triple-A ballparks for the 2015 season.
