Last night was a big boost to Kyle Lohse's case for Type A free agency, giving him 14 wins and lowering his ERA to 3.76. He not only is fighting to make that coveted Type A classification, he's also trying to prove his worth to a potential buyer this off-season. Last year, Kyle was squeezed out of the market and missed out on his Gil Meche-esque $55m deal. This year will be different, as the only free agent pitchers you could rank ahead of him are Ben Sheets, CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe, and Oliver Perez, and probably Mike Mussina, assuming the options on John Lackey and Brad Penny are picked up by their respective teams. Considering the amount of holes in the rotations of big market clubs, I think that's a good sign for Kyle. In Eddie Bajek's updated rankings (9/16), Lohse is at the top of the Type B free agent class. After last night's win, he'll be on his way up; I speculate that he'll need to win one more game and avoid a total blowout to re-enter the Type A category.

Breaking News!

Adam Kennedy has informed Cardinals management that he would like to be traded this off-season, according to Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch. Per Strauss:

"I've never played on a baseball team where I haven't had a role, whether it was everyday or something else. That's the toughest part, not having a role. I realize it's not going to happen here," Kennedy said before Thursday night's series finale against the Cincinnati Reds.

Kennedy is due to make $4m in 2009 and will be 33-years-old in January. The Cardinals have been satisfied with the play of Felipe Lopez since acquiring him off waivers: in 113 AB with St. Louis, Lopez is batting .345/.390/.496 with 3 homers and 12 RBIs. I never expected that kind of play from Felipe, as his resurgence has all but made Kennedy obsolete. Will the Cardinals be able to find a market for Adam? Perhaps they could trade salaries with Jack Wilson of the Pirates, who's due $7.25m in 2009.

While I've been a proponent of acquiring a big-name middle infielder, trading Kennedy for Wilson and re-signing Lopez for another year could allow the Cardinals to seek a bigger upgrade in the pitching market. Maybe Ben Sheets? That's dreaming big.

What do you think will happen with Kennedy this off-season?