Kyle Lohse rumors: St. Louis Cardinals make sense, but not enough of it

Tuesday's sudden Chris Carpenter injury leading to the sudden end of Kyle Lohse's unemployment makes so much sense intuitively that I think people were instantly suspicious of it--it's movie logic, and it's supposed to fall apart on closer examination.

I wish I could say something to the contrary, but it does seem to fall apart on closer examination. It looks like Carpenter's contract was insured, which comes as a minor shock to me, but Lohse--however terrible his market has gotten in the wake of qualifying-offer-gate--still seems like a fair bet to get a multi-year contract.

And as much of a loss as Carpenter is, it's only a loss in 2013; the Cardinals' 2014 rotation was never meant to rely on Chris Carpenter anyway. Signing Lohse would be a two-year solution to a one-year problem.

Okay okay okay: Unless Jaime Garcia is also not ready to pitch. Each new Garcia injury feels nearly as terrifying as each new Carpenter injury, and the truly worrying thing about Carpenter's injury is the thing it reminds us of: Three of the Cardinals' five returning starters are or were recently severely injured. Carpenter, Garcia, Adam Wainwright--it's enough to make you see why they extended Jake Westbrook.