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The St. Louis Cardinals have made a qualifying offer to right-hander Kyle Lohse, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. Lohse has one week to accept or decline the offer.
If Lohse accepts the deal, he will earn $13.3 million dollars on a one-year contract in 2013. If he declines the deal and signs elsewhere, the Cardinals would get a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft and his new team would have to surrender a first-round draft pick in order to sign Lohse. If the surrendered first-round pick should happen to land in the top 10 picks, Lohse's new team would have to surrender a second-round pick.
The 6'2" Lohse had a strong season for the Cardinals in 2012, going 16-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 33 starts. If Lohse were to hit the free agent market as one of the more coveted available starting pitchers, he might command a similar deal to the five-year, $77.5 million contract that Los Angeles Angels left hander C.J. Wilson signed last offseason.