With spring training winding down and opening day now less than two weeks away, it appears that many things are beginning to fall into place for the Detroit Tigers. One area the Tigers could still use some additional help in, however, is the starting rotation. According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, they might be interested in the still-unemployed Kyle Lohse.
Tigers r very relieved anibal sanchez looked so good Monday. But they are emphasizing depth and have been eying kyle lohse
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 24, 2016
Lohse, who is now 37 years old, is coming off of a very rough season with the Milwaukee Brewers. Through 152.1 innings of work last year, Lohse went 5-13 with a 5.85 ERA (68 ERA+) and a 1.46 WHIP over 37 games (22 starts). That being said, it wasn’t all that long ago when Lohse was pitching some very good ball. From 2011-14, Lohse went 54-30 with a 3.28 ERA (116 ERA+) and a 1.14 WHIP while averaging nearly 200 innings per year for the St. Louis Cardinals (2011 and 2012) and Brewers (2013 and 2014).
Although there is plenty of reason to be optimistic about a starting rotation consisting of Justin Verlander, Jordan Zimmermann, Anibal Sanchez and Mike Pelfrey, a few question marks still exist. Perhaps most concerning is the fact that Daniel Norris, who many assumed was the clear front-runner for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, is now dealing with back trouble.
Of course, The Tigers do have quite a bit of pitching depth with guys such as Matt Boyd, Shane Greene, Kyle Ryan and Buck Farmer. However, it certainly couldn’t hurt to add another arm to the mix, either.
At this stage in his career, Lohse would hardly be a sure thing, but it would certainly be a low-risk move, especially if it is on a minor league deal. Bringing the right-hander to the Motor City and taking a chance on him is something that has actually made sense for quite a while now as well.
