Lance Lynn is not happy. The big right-hander has not been throwing the ball well and doesn’t know what team he will be playing for tomorrow. There are also rumblings that he is unhappy with the current clubhouse culture.
Lynn knows he is about to be traded. On Thursday he was spotted at a Home Depot buying moving boxes. That same day he also gave an interesting quote to White Sox reporter Vinny Duber.
“Everyone around the league is telling me I’m gone. But I’ve yet to hear anything from anybody here, so you never know,” Lynn said. “In the past I’ve had a little bit more communication knowing what’s going on, knowing what might happen.”
Lynn later added “When you wake up at 8 a.m and everyone thinks you’ve been traded to three different teams, it’s different. I’m not going to lie, there’s been no communication. Nobody told me anything or close to anything like that.
“I’ve asked to communicate with everybody. When you play long enough in this game, you assume that you’re going to be kept in the loop of what things might happen.”
Lance Lynn has been in the game a long time and has been traded before. He knows how this business goes and yet he still sounds shocked by the way the White Sox front office is operating. For a White Sox organization that has lost all benefit of the doubt, this is another terrible look.
Lynn signed a contract extension two years ago and has a team option for next season. It seems like a foregone conclusion that Lynn will not be back with the White Sox. He has been linked to the Dodgers, Rays, and Rangers.
Trade rumors are bound to be a distraction for any player but keeping Lynn seems to be affecting his play.
Before Wednesday’s game against the Cubs, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol was asked if Lynn would even start because of the recent trade rumors surrounding him. Many thought he would be scratched before the game in anticipation of a trade announcement.
Lynn did wind up taking the ball and got lit up. He allowed seven runs and didn’t make it out of the fifth inning. That could very well be the last time we see him pitch in a White Sox uniform so his frustration is understandable.
For what it’s worth Lynn did have a positive message for fans despite the recent rough stretch.
“The fans were awesome to me. The fans have pride and aren’t afraid to share what they think, “ Lynn said during an appearance on Foul Territory. “Unfortunately, I haven’t had the best year I wanted. The fans let me be me.”
Great