Cardinals lose Lynn for 2016 season

ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals right-hander Lance Lynn had surprise Tommy John surgery Tuesday and will be sidelined all of next season.

The operation repaired a torn ulnar collateral ligament while having the ulnar nerve transposed and bone chips removed. Lynn missed a couple of starts in June with a forearm strain.

The 28-year-old Lynn's health was not mentioned by the Cardinals at their season-ending news conference.

Lynn was 12-11 with a 3.03 ERA last season. He was an All-Star in 2012 and has three straight seasons of 30 or more starts. He's among 16 pitchers to work 175 or more innings each of the last four years.

The loss of Lynn is the latest blow to the NL Central champion Cardinals pitching depth.

John Lackey became the team's ace after Adam Wainwright was sidelined with a torn left Achilles in April and went 13-10 with a career-best 2.77 ERA and started in Games 1 and 4 of the NL Division Series against the Chicago Cubs. Now he's a free agent.

The Cardinals have made a $15.8 million qualifying offer to the 37-year-old Lackey and could seek to sign him to a longer deal.

Talented youngster Carlos Martinez was shut down at the end of the season with a shoulder strain. Wainwright made only a handful of relief appearances at the end of the regular season and in the division series, although the team anticipates he'll be 100 percent for spring training.

Top pitching prospect Alex Reyes was suspended 50 games Monday for testing positive for a drug of abuse. The Cardinals had expected the 21-year-old Reyes might make his major league debut at some point next season.