Lance Lynn squashes Pirates rumors before they even begin with blunt comment

Recently, The Athletic labeled the Pirates as a fit for veteran right hander Lance Lynn as he considers a transition to the bullpen late in his career. Adding him would totally be a boost to this roster, which needed an upgraded relieving core heading into 2025.

They, in fact, did just that with the key additions of Caleb Ferguson and Tim Mayza, but they could definitely use more. Lynn would have likely been utilized as an long relief option or a rotation wild card, given that the future of Johan Oviedo is questionable coming off of Tommy John surgery.

Now, though, all possible hopes of bringing in the veteran have been shot down, as he told Foul Territory during an interview this week that the Pirates have not even contacted him. He was asked directly if he were willing to play for the Marlins or Pirates, given the related chances of then being dealt at the MLB Trade Deadline in the back half of a one-year deal.

Lynn's words were blunt: "Neither one of those teams have even called."

Pirates fans are well aware of the struggles this regime faces in forking out money to free agents, but what hurts more about this situation is the fact that they have not even reached out to negotiate or even discuss anything with Lynn, a viable bounceback option.

Any hopes for Lance Lynn to the Pirates are shot down, via his own comments during an interview.

Ben Cherington has stated this offseason that the payroll will increase, but there is not a lot of time remaining in the offseason to accomplish that, as they are still sitting at $5 million less than last season. With the payroll checking in around $82 million, fans would think they would have at least eclipsed the $87 million of last year, but here we are.

Time will tell what the Pirates do decide to get done heading into the season, but the news regarding Lynn is very disappointing. The veteran would have helped in multiple ways, yet they have not even called about him. One way or another, though, Cherington will try to find a way to get over the payroll total from last year. We think.