After having one of the worst seasons in his MLB career, Kyle Lohse will look to rebound with the Texas Rangers. According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Lohse and Texas agreed to terms on a deal.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post confirmed the report, and added the deal was worth $2 million, with another $1.5 million in performance bonuses.
In a way, Lohse's decline serves as a microcosm for the Milwaukee Brewers' fortunes in recent years.
When Milwaukee signed the 37-year-old right-hander for three years and $33 million, he was coming off a successful 2012 season in which he finished 16-3 and posted a 2.86 ERA. The Brewers had finished 83-79, missing out on the playoffs after reaching the National League Championship Series in 2011.
Lohse was supposed to be one of the anchors of Milwaukee's starting rotation and help get the team back into the playoffs. Instead, his performance declined over the next three seasons, and the Brewers went from contending to all-out rebuilding.
There's no way getting around how poorly Lohse pitched in 2015. Brewers manager Craig Counsell moved him to the bullpen in August after he posted a 6.31 ERA and 5.19 FIP to start the year.
Following a loss to the Cleveland Indians on July 22, Lohse perfectly summed up how his season was unfolding, per Genaro C. Armas of the Associated Press: "Ever see a guy try to pull something off the shelf, drops it, tries to put it back, knocks it over some more and the whole thing falls down? Yeah, about like that."
Beyond the obvious concerns about his performance, Lohse's drop in velocity, per BrooksBaseball.net, raises a major question about whether he still has any value as a major league pitcher:
Lohse is a sinker-ball pitcher, which is notable considering how successful opposing hitters were against the pitch, also courtesy of BrooksBaseball.net:
Even if Lohse deviates from his past tendencies and relies less on his sinker, hitters had a lot of success against what is historically his secondary weapon—a changeup—last year.
A number of former starting pitchers have transitioned well to a bullpen role in the past, so there's the chance Lohse could have a career renaissance as a reliever.
If 2015 is any indicator, a transformation won't be on the cards. Lohse had a 3.81 ERA in his 15 relief appearances, while his strikeout-to-walk rate fell from 2.87 as a starter to 1.69 out of the pen.
The Rangers seem a somewhat odd destination for Lohse since they aren't in dire need of starting pitching. Their starters rank eighth in combined ERA (3.69). Granted, they also rank 21st in combined FIP (4.46). Texas has room for improvement, but nothing from Lohse's performance last year leads one to believe he's the guy to address the issue.
A.J. Griffin left his start on May 7 with shoulder stiffness, which opened up a spot in the rotation. Yet, Yu Darvish's return to the active roster appears to be imminent. Assuming Darvish doesn't suffer any setbacks in his rehab, he won't be in the minors much longer.
Perhaps Rangers general manager Jon Daniels views Lohse as insurance in case any other starting pitcher goes down between now and the end of the year.
Stats are courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments