The Royals have released veteran right-hander Kyle Lohse, tweets Rustin Dodd of The Athletic. He’d been pitching with Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate in Omaha after signing a minor league deal back in March.
Lohse, 39, didn’t pitch in the Majors or minors in 2017 and only notched 9 1/3 big league innings in the 2016 season (all coming with the Rangers). He’d had a rough time adjusting to pro ball again to this point in the 2018 season, yielding a dozen runs on 17 hits and five walks with five strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings with the Storm Chasers (12.46 ERA).
Lohse was a workhorse for the Twins, Cardinals and Brewers at various points in his career, though he hasn’t experienced much in the way of success at the big league level since posting a strong 3.54 ERA in 198 1/3 innings with the Brew Crew back in 2014. Lohse struggled in 2015, the final season of a three-year $33MM deal with Milwaukee, losing his rotation spot and being shifted to the bullpen late in a season that saw him post a 5.85 earned run average (albeit with a slightly more encouraging 4.40 xFIP).
It’s possible, of course, that he’ll look to latch on elsewhere in a continued pursuit of returning to the Majors as his 40th birthday approaches, though he’ll have a ways to go before convincing a team that he’s capable of pitching in the Majors again.
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It might be wise for the Cubs to sign him. He represents an immediate bull pen upgrade for what has been just an awful bullpen. I don’t know that I have ever seen a worse bull pen than the 2018 Cubs.
What are you talking about?
Do you have any idea just how many throwaways and retreads there out there to pick from without going for a guy with a 12 ERA in AAA, who hasn’t done anything worthwhile in three years?
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, DOOFUS?
Oh. You’re a trolling moron. Nevermind.
Some players just can’t let go. I wouldn’t, it looks like fun playing baseball for a living…..
I agree, because I’m sure it’s tough to finally retire. But sometimes the game tells you when to retire, and Lohse might be at that point.
Hey just basically announced his retirement on instagram.
Hopefully he will resurface as a pitching coach one day. He always seemed like the type that would make a good one.
Can they get a new photo of him? He’s not our mistake anymore lol
Come on, do you really think he was a mistake? His first two years he was the most productive starter for the Brewers. That last year was ugly but unlike Garza he handled the demotion with class and did what was asked of him.