Arlington, Texas - The Texas Rangers tonight announced that the club has signed free agent right-handed pitcher Kyle Lohse to a minor league contract. He will report to Triple-A Round Rock in Albuquerque on Sunday and is expected to be activated prior to his first start, which will likely take place in the next few days.
Lohse, 37, went 5-13 with a 5.85 ERA (99 ER/152.1 IP) over 37 games/22 starts for the Brewers in 2015, his third and final season in Milwaukee. The Brewers' Opening Day starter last year, he finished the season as a reliever after being moved to the bullpen in August. He posted a double-digit win total in four consecutive seasons from 2011-14, and his 54 victories in that span ranked as the fifth-most in the National League.
Lohse has had 10-or-more wins in seven different campaigns. He has gone 147-141 with a 4.37 ERA in 455 games/416 starts over a 15-year major league career with Minnesota (2001-06), Cincinnati (2006-07), Philadelphia (2007), St. Louis (2008-12), and Milwaukee (2013-15). He will be seeking a return to the American League for the first time since 2006. His 416 starts since the 2001 season are fourth-most in the majors, while 147 wins rank among MLB's top 15 in that period. Lohse had a career-high 16 wins with the Cardinals in 2012, when he finished seventh in National League Cy Young Award voting.