The Chicago Cubs began the regular season with uncertainty at the fifth spot on the starting rotation. Following the Cubs’ 0-2 start against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Japan, the team chose to name Ben Brown as the fifth pitcher in the starting rotation.
Brown was the winning pitcher in the Cubs’ 18-3 win Monday night over the Athletics in front of 12,192 fans at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. Brown gave up six hits, one home run, and three earned runs in his first start of the season. The 25-year-old right-hander earned five strikeouts in five innings pitched.
The Chicago Cubs had questions for the starting rotation this spring
Brown pitched much better against the A’s than he did on March 18 when he gave up two earned runs on four hits in 2.2 innings in relief during the Cubs’ 4-1 loss to the Dodgers.
Before traveling to Japan, the Cubs had their eyes on veteran pitchers Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson for the fifth-rotation spot. Chicago reportedly had negotiations with Lynn, a two-time All-Star and World Series Champion.
Lance Lynn is retiring after the “money didn’t work out”
During his appearance on the podcast “Dymin in The Rough”, Lynn announced he was retiring from the MLB.
“Update: baseball season is upon us, ” Lynn said. “And I’m right here on the couch. And that is where I’m going to stay. So, there’s the update. I am officially retiring from baseball right here, right now. But there might be a little something fun around the corner–upcoming weekend. So stay tuned. But for Major League Baseball, I am done pitching.”
Lynn said he chose to retire despite receiving interest from teams in free agency because their salary offers didn’t meet his demands.
“Well, there’s a couple of different things,” Lynn said of why he chose to retire at 37. “You start looking around free agency. Obviously, there were some interests from the teams here and there. Money didn’t work out. Now you’re looking at the season started. I’ve really enjoyed not being there.”
Lynn started his career in the majors with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011, the same season he won his only World Series. Lynn had stops with the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lynn, a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, had a 143-99 record and a career ERA of 3.74. He went 7-4 with the Cardinals in 2024, recording an ERA of 3.84 in 117.1 innings pitched.
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