Report: Lynn drawing interest from Orioles

After reporting earlier Saturday that the Baltimore Orioles are interested in free-agent pitcher Alex Cobb, Jon Morosi of MLB Network indicates the club is also taking a look at Lance Lynn, citing a source.

The Orioles are still thought to have a slight preference for Cobb, partly because of his AL East experience, Morosi adds.

In his first season back from Tommy John surgery, the 30-year-old Lynn posted a 3.43 ERA and 4.82 FIP over 186 1/3 innings for the St. Louis Cardinals. Traditionally a workhorse, Lynn has managed to pitch at least 175 innings in each season since 2012, with 2016 - which he sat out entirely - as the lone exception.

Cobb and Lynn both represent the second tier of pitching on the free-agent market this offseason. The pair of right-handers are set to draw substantial interest, but will lure decidedly less in term and salary than Yu Darvish or former Orioles pitcher Jake Arrieta.

As a team, the Orioles had the fourth-worst starting rotation last year, according to FanGraphs WAR. The team also posted MLB's worst ERA (5.70).

Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman were the only qualified starters for the Orioles this past year, putting up a 4.24 ERA and 4.68 ERA, respectively. The nine other pitchers the Orioles relied upon to make at least one start combined for 0.2 WAR. They were especially weighed down by Chris Tillman and his 8.12 ERA through 85 1/3 innings.