Cardinals Rumors

The Cardinals lead the National League in runs scored even after losing their best hitter (Albert Pujols) to free agency and getting barely any offense from another one of last year's major contributors (Lance Berkman). Here are the latest Cardinals-related notes…

• The trade of Tyler Greene and the promotion of Ryan Jackson serve as reminders that Cardinals have had trouble developing shortstops, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. While Cardinals officials and scouts consider Jackson a strong defender, he wasn’t expected to pass former first rounders Greene and Pete Kozma on the team’s depth chart. Rafael Furcal is under contract for 2013, but he has lingering back issues.
• Derrick Goold, Rick Hummel, Jeff Gordon and Larry Borowsky weigh in on Kyle Lohse's next contract at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Lohse hits free agency this coming offseason and should sign for at least three years at $10MM-plus per season, the writers suggest. 
• Mark Buehrle’s name comes up in the Post-Dispatch discussion, and there are some similarities between Buehrle and Lohse, but I don’t expect Lohse to obtain a $56MM contract, like Buehrle did. That said, I think Lohse could match Ted Lilly's three-year, $33MM contract from two offseasons ago. Lohse has said he’s open to midseason extension talks, so he may not even reach the open market.
• The Cardinals announced that they purchased Jackson's contract from Triple-A.

Kyle Lohse is in the midst of arguably his best season as a Major Leaguer, and the 33-year-old right-hander is open to discussing a mid-season extension to stay in St. Louis, writes MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. The Cardinals, however, have yet to approach Lohse with such an offer, according to Langosch.

According to numerous metrics, Lohse is in the midst of a career year. His ERA (2.79), K/BB ratio (3.30), BB/9 (1.6) and FIP (3.56) are all single-season bests for Lohse. His 23 starts tie him for the most in the National League, and his 148 1/3 innings are ninth-most in all of baseball.

Lohse is in the final season of a four-year, $41MM contract extension that he signed late in the 2008 season. Then 29 years old, Lohse passed on the opportunity to test the free agent market following a season that he would finish with a 3.78 ERA in exactly 200 innings. It was a surprising move at the time, especially considering the fact that Lohse is represented by Scott Boras. It would be arguably even more surprising this time around, as this could mark Lohse's last opportunity for a significant contract.

Lohse told Langosch and other reporters that his priority, should he reach free agency, is winning:

"Every year the focus is on winning," Lohse said. "We're not trying to develop something. We're trying to win. With my situation, that's what I'm looking for. If I do go to free agency, they will still be in the mix, I'm sure. But there will be other places to look, too."

Earlier today, Buster Olney suggested that Lohse could approach Mark Buehrle's four-year, $58MM contract if he were to hit the open market. I share Ben Nicholson-Smith's skepticism that Lohse would reach such a lofty sum, given that he lacks Buehrle's durability and consistent track record. However, Boras has worked surprising free agent deals in the past.

If he were to hit free agency, Lohse would join a solid free agent class that includes Zack Greinke, Anibal Sanchez, Brandon McCarthy, Edwin Jackson and Ryan Dempster.