Kyle Lohse signs with the Milwaukee Brewers

So, I totally called the Kyle Lohse signing a few weeks ago.  Don't believe me?  Read this.  Yeah, that's right, try to find holes in that one.  All [jokes] aside, this saga went on for far too long.  Kyle Lohse was simply not worth waiting for and simply not worth all the words that have been spoken and written about him.  But now that Lohse has actually signed with the Brewers, there are clear winners and losers and since I am not tired, I might as well weigh in.

Obviously, the Cardinals are winners.  When Scott Boras finally found a team willing to sign Lohse and forfeit their draft pick, the Cardinals gained the 28th pick in the upcoming draft.  This pick also comes with more money to spend, thus a DOUBLE BONUS!  The draft is not considered to be very strong, but that doesn't mean that St. Louis will rue and/or lament this new pick.  They seem to be pretty good at drafting, so extra picks + extra money = extra goodness.  Plus, uber-prospect Shelby Miller can simply take Lohse's place in the rotation.  He might put up better numbers and certainly will generate more fan interest than Lohse did.  Of course, St. Louis has no issues getting fans to their games.

I think the Brewers are both winners and losers.  Lohse does upgrade their rotation.  While I am not a huge fan of his, he can throw innings and he can be effective.  Of course, the Brewers fans know very well that starters coming from St. Louis to Milwaukee are not always super effective.  Jeff Suppan comes to mind.  Kyle Lohse is absolutely better than Jeff Suppan.  I just don't think Lohse is good enough to push the Brewers past the Cardinals or Reds.  I'm not sure gaining the upper hand in the 3rd place battle with Pittsburgh is worth the 17th overall pick, but I could be wrong.  Roy Halladay was the 17th overall pick, once upon a time.  So, premise proven and then dominated!

Since I am a Twins fan, I can see a glimmer of an opening for the Twins.  Wily Peralta seems to be the odd-man-out in Milwaukee.  The Brewers rotation is pretty well set with Yovani Gallardo, Lohse, and young, interesting starters like Peralta, Marco Estrada, Chris Narveson and Mike Fiers.  Peralta might be the most talented, but also the biggest question mark of the four.  If he becomes available, for whatever reason, the Twins might have a bat that Milwaukee could want (Justin Morneau perhaps?).  If that trade came along, I'd make it.  Adding an arm like Peralta to the Twins' farm system would make it even stronger than it already is.  I would hate that trade for the Brewers, for the record.

No one else really loses.  Kyle Lohse isn't good enough to shift a race or change the playoff odds of any given team.  Lohse doesn't push the Brewers over the top, at least in my opinion.  He simply isn't good enough.  He had some good seasons in St. Louis, no doubt about that.  However, he hasn't been consistent and he has dealt with some injuries.  Plus, he is getting older.  He'll be 37 when this contract ends.  3 years and $33 million is fair for Lohse, I guess.  I just can't get too excited about a player like Kyle Lohse.  Sorry Brewers fans.