Boyd as your backup is the issue. We have no depth or talent. Lohse is desperation. He is a poor mans Pelfrey.
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What does that mean he is a poor man's Pelfrey? Loshe is 37 and probably done as a starting pitcher (except if DET signs him), but he still be better than Pelfrey.
Profile: As of this writing, Kyle Lohse has not signed a deal of any kind to play baseball for a living. It could be possible that Lohse is waiting for right offer, but it's more likely that he's waiting for any offer. Lohse enters the 2016 season as a 37-year-old who was below replacement level in 2015. His ground ball rate has been diving, his home run has been rising, and he's walking more batters than ever. Milwaukee even relegated him to the bullpen for some of 2015. At this point, Kyle Lohse is basically a yawn personified. He may be a last-minute addition to a 25-man roster, or may even have to accept a minor-league contract. He may see an uptick in performance with a full-time move to the bullpen, but then he'd be a 37-year-old long reliever. This is most likely a better job than many, but it the prospect of it may be enough for Lohse to finally hang up his goatee -- err -- spikes. (David Temple)
The following are all groundball pitchers:
Pelfrey last 5 years Away
2011 = .363 wOBA 4.48 xFIP
2012 = .313 wOBA 3.92 xFIP
2013 = .330 wOBA 4.57 xFIP
2014 = .351 wOBA 5.71 xFIP
2015 = .388 wOBA 4.74 xFIP
Career = .365 wOBA 4.69 xFIP
Lohse last 5 years Away
2011 = .298 wOBA 3.93 xFIP
2012 = .294 wOBA 4.12 xFIP
2013 = .300 wOBA 4.18 xFIP
2014 = .319 wOBA 4.45 xFIP
2015 = .317 wOBA 4.22 xFIP
Career = .336 wOBA 4.50 xFIP
Fister last 5 years Away
2011 = .291 wOBA 3.55 xFIP
2012 = .309 wOBA 3.42 xFIP
2013 = .317 wOBA 3.61 xFIP
2014 = .337 wOBA 4.44 xFIP
2015 = .355 wOBA 4.38 xFIP
Career = .322 wOBA 3.89 xFIP
Porcello last 5 years Away
2011 = .323 wOBA 3.95 xFIP
2012 = .352 wOBA 4.04 xFIP
2013 = .310 wOBA 3.45 xFIP
2014 = .296 wOBA 3.71 xFIP
2015 = .358 wOBA 3.87 xFIP
Career = .329 wOBA 3.84 xFIP
Who they pitch to matters. Lohse has benefitted in throwing to Yadier Molina and Jonathan Lucroy over the last 5 years. Two of the better pitch framers/game callers in the game. Fister, after he left DET, has done well with Jose Lobaton, but had issues with Wilson Ramos, especially in 2015. Rick Porcello had issues throwing to Gerald Laird in 2012 and threw mostly to Rookie Blake Swihart in 2015. Having the two worst pitch framers/game callers in baseball (McCann/Saltalamacchia) are not going to help, especially for the young pitchers (Boyd, Fulmer, etc, etc). If a pitcher has issues in 2016, is it them or who they are throwing to?
Nick Castellanos and Pablo Sandoval are two of the worst defensive 3B in baseball. This certainly hasn?t helped Porcello. Infield defense is important to groundball pitchers, especially 3B defense.
3B Defense last 2 years
5th = MIL (Lohse) 6.1 UZR/150
17th = MIN (Pelfrey) 1.1 UZR/150
20th = WSN (Fister) -1.2 UZR/150
29th = DET -13.8 UZR/150
30th = BOS -16.4 UZR/150
3B Defense last 5 years
6th = MIL 5.1 UZR/150
22nd = WSN -3.6 UZR/150
24th = STL -5.1 UZR/150
27th = MIN -5.6 UZR/150
29th = BOS -10.9 UZR/150
30th = DET -11.6 UZR/150
