ST. LOUIS -- In the years following his first Cardinals stint, one that saw him earn a World Series championship ring and establish himself as a big-game pitcher, Lance Lynn always looked back on his time in St. Louis fondly, but he never really had thoughts of a reunion.

That all changed this past offseason when the Cardinals’ needs for proven veteran pitchers married with Lynn’s Marion, Ill., offseason home and his desire to find a platform to launch another comeback act. Lynn talked about his second chapter with the Cardinals on Monday during the team’s Winter Warm-Up event.

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“Once your stint is done with a place, you think, ‘That was fun,’" said Lynn, who was 2-0 in the playoffs as a rookie during the run to the 2011 World Series crown and 72-47 with a 3.38 ERA in six seasons with the Redbirds. “Obviously, this was the place that gave me a chance to be a big leaguer, so it holds a place in my heart. But when you leave, you think about what’s next.

“Baseball is a weird game, and it’s got a weird sense of humor. I’m coming back and [former teammate Daniel] Descalso is my bench coach, and the manager is Oli [Marmol], who I played with in Low-A and High-A. I never would have thought I’d be back in St. Louis with Descalso as my bench coach and Oli as my manager, for sure.”

Lynn -- now 36 after spending time with the Twins, Yankees, Rangers, White Sox and Dodgers -- is back in St. Louis because of something he has been known for throughout his career -- taking ownership of games he pitches and working deep into them. That is just what the Cardinals needed after their starting staff combusted in a dismal 2023.

In his career, Lynn has compiled double-digit wins nine times and at least 15 wins four times. He has three top-six Cy Young Award finishes. He has made at least 30 starts six times and has pitched 175 innings seven times. Then there’s this: He never has had a losing record over a full season.

“When I first came up here with [Chris Carpenter] and [Adam Wainwright] and [Jake] Westbrook and [Kyle] Lohse, I was the young guy,” said Lynn, who was 18-7 in 2012 with the Cards after cracking the starting rotation for the first time. “They would make fun of me if I didn’t throw at least six innings or didn’t throw 100 pitches. You learned quickly that your No. 1 goal as the starting pitcher was to finish the game you started.”

Lynn, known throughout baseball for letting out roars upon striking out foes in big spots, has something in common with Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras. While both are deeply beloved by their teammates, they are often despised by foes because of their fiery competitiveness. Contreras said he is eager to get to Spring Training to work with Lynn and fellow newcomers Sonny Gray and Kyle Gibson.

“Lance has that same attitude I have when I play -- he has that [expletive] it attitude, which I love,” Contreras said with a laugh. “Having Lance Lynn on our team, we’re going to feed off him. We’ve already been talking about creating a chemistry. I love Lance and the way he pitches and attacks batters. I know he gave up a lot of homers, but I’m pretty sure that he made the adjustments for 2024.”

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While splitting time between the White Sox and Dodgers last season, Lynn gave up an MLB-most 44 homers en route to a career-worst 5.73 ERA. He was also victimized by the long ball in his one postseason start, when the D-backs smashed four solo homers off him in 2 2/3 innings in Game 3 of the NLDS.

Lynn has gone to great lengths to try to fix the home run issue. He built an indoor pitching area in his home in Illinois to get in extra work.

“When you go through a year like last year,” Lynn said, “you figure out what doesn’t work and through trial and error there are things you can take into the next year. When you get slapped in the face, you figure out pretty quick what doesn’t work. I’m looking forward to this year and correcting the wrongs I had on the mound.”

Lynn will be back on the mound and back with the Cardinals -- a scenario he never envisioned, but also a move that causes memories to flood back.

“[In 2011], I was a rookie, and you don’t understand what you were a part of when you’re in the fire,” he said. “Being 36 and I haven’t been to a World Series since [2013], it makes you understand what you accomplished with that group. It was a great time.”