St. Louis Cardinals’ Kyle Lohse gets qualifying offer for a year – MLB News
With uncertainty prevailing over the future of the accomplished pitcher, the St. Louis Cardinals made a qualifying offer of a year worth $13.3 million to the free agent Kyle Lohse. The move is being seen as a tactical one as the Cardinals are weighing all other options.
It is to be pointed out here that the offer takes into account the fact that should an extra Draft pick comes, he can be accommodated accordingly. In case Lohse accepts the offer, it will be biding one for him.
However, with the entitlement to either accept or decline the offer, it will be interesting to see what option the pitcher exercises. There is a predominant likelihood that he may receive multi-year offers from other teams.
If offers from other teams come his way, Lohse may well opt for the most rewarding one. There are some technicalities involved in the qualifying offer.
Having come into effect in December 2011, the qualifying offer enables the team to get a compensated-round Draft pick. The pick would then come between the first and second rounds of the Draft – provided a player rejects the offer.
If any other team extends an offer to Kyle Lohse after this qualifying offer, it will have to bear the cost of a Draft pick as well. Being one of the two Cardinals' players becoming a free agent right now, the other being Lance Berkman, it is only Lohse who has got this offer.
The deadline for the offer to accept or decline is November 9. It will be interesting what Lohse does.
Having appeared in 33 games in Major League Baseball 2012, he maintained an impressive 2.86 ERA with 16-3 record, having pitched 211 innings with 1.09 WHIP. While his post-season performance may have not been up to the mark, he remained one of the consistent pitchers for the Cardinals.
With the likelihood of getting bigger contract offers, it certainly is Lohse himself to decide what suits him most. The 34-year-old pitcher, having been a regular feature of the St. Louis Cardinals, will make the decision on November 9.
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