Cardinals lock up Lohse for four years
Sports Network | September 29, 2008
St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - The St. Louis Cardinals and starting pitcher Kyle Lohse agreed to a four-year contract on Monday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a St. Louis newspaper reports the deal is worth $41 million.
With the imminent deal in mind, Lohse was scratched from Sunday's season finale, an 11-4 win over Cincinnati. St. Louis finished in fourth place with an 86-76 record, 11 1/2 games back of the NL Central champion Chicago Cubs.
"We knew Kyle Lohse was a winning player before this year, and this season we were fortunate enough to see his talent and competitiveness first hand," said Cardinals vice president and general manager John Mozeliak at a press conference. "Knowing we have Kyle as part of our team as we move forward is a major step as we set our sights on not only next season, but the years to follow."
Lohse could not be blamed for the Cardinals' finish, however, as the would-be free agent finished with a career-high 15 wins in addition to a 3.78 earned- run average with 119 strikeouts in 200 innings. He only lost six of his 33 starts.
It was the first time Lohse finished with double-digit wins since a 14-11 campaign in Minnesota in 2003.
In eight major league seasons, Lohse sports a 78-80 mark with a 4.67 ERA in 251 games (228 starts) with Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Minnesota and St. Louis.
