Kyle Lohse is still a free agent and the market continues to shrink as other, more proven, free agent pitchers continue to sign deals with teams. The St. Louis Cardinals could use a reliable arm. Should the team think twice about letting Lohse sign with another team?
As Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com puts it, the Cardinals are facing numerous question marks in their rotation. Will Chris Carpenter be back to form? Is Jaime Garcia going to be the same? Which Lance Lynn will the Cardinals get in the starting rotation?
Lohse, though his record was extremely good, can guarantee the Cardinals one thing, innings pitched. Sure, he's a healthy risk, but last season Lohse was extremely dependable and was the team's ace all year long.
Lohse posted a career-best 16-3 record to give him the highest winning percentage, .842, among starters last season. He went 211 innings in the regular season, not counting the 20-plus he hurled in the postseason.
As Castrovince points out in his article, the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers could use another starting pitcher. A possible destination was erased after the Los Angeles Angeles traded for Jason Vargas on Wednesday.
Guys like Zack Greinke, Ryan Dempster, Anibal Sanchez and Dan Haren were all picked up during the offseason.
The Milwaukee Brewers would be an interesting destination. They are NL Central rivals of the Cardinals and could use help from a veteran like Lohse.
Because Lohse is a Scott Boras client, the signing process is taking a bit longer than it should. Patience is key when dealing with this big-time agent. Another one of his clients, Michael Bourn, has yet to sign this offseason.
As the starting pitching market shrinks, guys like Lohse will stand out and eventually, somebody will swoop up the ace.
