ST. LOUIS – What seemed inevitable is now on its way to becoming official. The Cardinals have agreed to a deal that will bring back veteran Adam Wainwright, sources told MLB.com. The club did not confirm the deal. The Cardinals’ standing offer to Wainwright was a one-year contract, but they did
ST. LOUIS – What seemed inevitable is now on its way to becoming official. The Cardinals have agreed to a deal that will bring back veteran jug
The Cardinals’ standing offer to Wainwright was a one-year deal, but they improved it last week when Wainwright started listening to other offers. MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reported that the deal was valued at $ 8 million, and the 39-year-old pitcher’s previous deals included incentives for games that were started and stopped above base pay.
Wainwright, three-time All-Star and this year’s Roberto Clemente Award winner, was moved to 29th overall by the Braves in 2000. In 2003 he was traded to St. Louis, made his debut in 2005 and completed the World Series. 06 and has spent every inning of his major league career with the Cardinals.
Wainwright was the Cardinals’ most reliable pitcher in 2020, throwing two shutouts and posting a 3.15 ERA in his 15th season with the club. After a coronavirus outbreak interrupted the Cardinals’ season for two weeks, it was Wainwright who came up with a five-inning outing against the White Sox in the team’s first game. Wainwright started his season 4-0 for the first time in his career, and one of those wins was a full nine innings game against the Indians on his 39th birthday.
With the re-signing of Wainwright, the Cardinals made their first Major League listing this off-season and will be heading to spring training with one vacancy in their rotation. Wainwright is likely to line up as the Cardinals’ starters in 2021 alongside Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas and Kwang Hyun Kim. A number of candidates – including Carlos Martínez, Austin Gomber, Daniel Ponce de Leon and Alex Reyes – are battling for fifth place.
The experience Wainwright brings is second to none, and the value of it becomes apparent when you speak to your teammates about the influence Wainwright has in the clubhouse and on the field.
“He’s just a model of consistency in what he does and he just motivates you to do better without telling you anything,” Flaherty said at the Cardinals’ annual winter warm-up this month. “You just watch him at work. And you watch how he runs his business, how he prepares, how he competes. And it just makes you want to do it better. He is special. “
This is the third year in a row that Wainwright has signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals, and has previously said how he prefers to go year after year and made the decision whether to start his career with his family at the beginning Would like to continue off-season. However, this year’s deal came much later than previous contract signings, partly because the Cardinals publicly and privately asked for patience as they sorted out the club’s finances after the 2020 season shortened by the pandemic. In December, Wainwright admitted that the free agent market was developing more slowly than before.
But both the Cardinals and Wainwright said during the off-season they preferred to see each other again, and after receiving competition for Wainwright from other teams, the Cardinals were able to bring back the pitcher who helped bring more than a decade of baseball to St. Define Louis.
They also have an updated listing for catcher Yadier Molina, who found ways to continue this offseason in the Puerto Rico Winter League and most recently to be among the Criollos de Caguas in the league’s championship series. He is reportedly planning to play for Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Series this weekend as he ponders what’s next. The 38-year-old began the off-season looking for a two-year deal, and he and Wainwright stayed in touch to return to the Cardinals together and possibly finish their careers together.
Part of the longstanding battery is back at St. Louis. The Cardinals continue to focus on bringing the second part back.
