*Photo from Reuters*
It was a good day to be Miles Mikolas, that's for sure. Mikolas and the St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a two year, $40 million contract extension, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. The deal has been confirmed by the Cardinals.
The extension was announced on Friday, and it will pay Mikolas, who was set to hit free agency after the 2023 season, $20 million this season. He was also named the opening day starter for the Cardinals on Friday following an injury to the previous planned opening day starter, Adam Wainwright.
As part of the extension, Mikolas gets a $5 million signing bonus and $3 million added to his previously agreed to $17 million salary for 2023. He then gets two more years at $16 million each, coming off his second career All Star game selection in 2022. Mikolas also returned to Cardinals camp after representing Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.
Mikolas had a strong season for the Cardinals last season, who were eliminated by the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Round. Mikolas posted a 3.29 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 3.87 FIP, making 32 starts and one relief appearance, totaling 202 1/3 innings pitched.
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said in a statement that "We are extremely pleased to announce that Miles Mikolas will remain a Cardinal for the foreseeable future. Miles stands among the top pitchers in the game today, and has continued to provide a steady presence for us both in the rotation and inside the clubhouse. The team is also looking forward to Miles taking the ball for us on Opening Day next week at Busch Stadium."
By getting the opening day start, Mikolas will take the hill on opening day for the second time in his career, previously starting for the Cardinals in 2019. He was away from the major leagues in 2015, 2016, and 2017, pitching in Japan after a rocky start to his career.
Mikolas has parts of 7 major league seasons with 3 teams under his belt. In that time, he has amassed a 3.70 ERA, 3.96 FIP, and 1.15 WHIP, tossing 723 innings split between 5 relief appearances and 40 starts. Mikolas also has a 2.20 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in the postseason, appearing in 4 games, 3 of which were starts.
Comments
Post a Comment