The Cardinals officially announced on Thursday that they’ve avoided salary arbitration with right-hander Lance Lynn by coming to terms on a three-year contract which will keep Lynn in St. Louis through the 2017 season. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports was first to report the contract and that it’s worth $22 million over the next three years, and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch confirmed this, adding that the second and third year of the deal includes incentives, based on games started, that could push the total value of the contract to $23.5 million. The contract buys out Lynn’s final three years of arbitration eligibility, but does not extend the Cardinals’ control into free agency as it does not include any options, Goold also added.
Lynn, 27, compiled 15 wins and a career-low 2.74 ERA with 181 strikeouts over 203 2/3 innings for the Cardinals in 2014, and his 48 wins since 2012 are third-most in the National League, behind only the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw (51) and teammate Adam Wainwright (53). He established himself as a rock-solid #2 starter behind ace Adam Wainwright in 2014, pitching his second consecutive 200-inning season, and over the last three years Lynn has posted a 3.48 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over more than 100 games.
In a statement, Cardinals Senior Vice President/General Manager John Mozeliak said that “(Lynn’s) performance has led to much sucess for both he and the Cardinals organization, and we look foward to his continued growth as both a pitcher and team leader.”
“Obviously, when you start talking about free-agent years or option years, there’s a cost to that,” Mozeliak told MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch. “It certainly was something that was on the table and discussed. But ultimately the comfort of something getting done, even though it may feel short, it gives us some cost certainty.”
The deal avoids an arbitration hearing between the two sides and will guarantee that cost certainly for both Lynn and the Cardinals over the next few years, as Lynn could have brought home more or less than the guaranteed $22 million by going through the arbitration process each offseason, depending on his performance.
Lynn took to his new Twitter account to thank the fans for their support:
To Cardinals nation thanks for all the support and looking forward to the next three years. it’s going to be a fun ride
— Lance Lynn (@lancelynn31) January 15, 2015
CRUZ AND CARDS AGREE TO DEAL: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported Thursday afternoon that the Cardinals have agreed to a one-year, $775K contract with backup catcher Tony Cruz. The club has confirmed the deal but has not provided any financial details. Cruz, 28, started a career-high 35 games in 2014, mainly due to Yadier Molina’s seven week absence while recovering from a thumb injury. Cruz hit .200/.270.259 with just six extra-base hits, and his offensive struggles helped lead the Cardinals to sign veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski mid-season. On the defensive side, Cruz threw out 25% of attempted basestealers, and although he spent nearly all his time at catcher, he brings the versatility to play the corner positions as well.
BOURJOS SIGNS AS WELL: Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals have agreed to a $1.65 million deal with speedy center fielder Peter Bourjos, avoiding arbitration. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports has confirmed the $1.65 million contract value. The 27-year-old hit .231 with 4 home runs and 24 RBIs while appearing in 119 games. With Jason Heyward acquired to play right field and Jon Jay looking like the starter in center, Bourjos appears set to serve as the team’s fourth outfielder and center field defensive replacement late in games. Read more on the Bourjos signing from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
JAY, CARDS FILE ARBITRATION SALARY FIGURES:
UPDATE: The Cardinals and Jay have come to terms on a 2-year, $10.975 million deal to avoid arbitration. Read more here.
ORIGINAL REPORTS:
Update 11:50pm 1/16: The Cardinals and outfielder Jon Jay have filed their salary figures for arbitration. The Cardinals offered $4.1M and Jay filed at $5M, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. The two sides still have some time to settle on a deal before headed to arbitration hearings, which would take place over the first three weeks of February, according to Langosch. In many cases such as this the team and the player meet somewhere in the middle of the filing costs, which in this case would be $4.55 million. Jay was projected to earn $4.5 million in salary arbitration by MLB Trade Rumors.
Jay, 29, spent most of 2014 as the team’s regular center fielder and hit .303/.372/.3.78 with 3 home runs and 46 RBIs while playing on a 1-year, $3.25 million contract. Jay’s defense drastically improved in 2014, as he went from -10 defensive runs saved to +3 this past season, and his WAR (Wins Above Replacement) value doubled from 1.4 to 2.8 between the past two seasons.
The Cardinals have come to terms on deals for all of their other arbitration-elgible players over the last few days.
————-
Previous Update 3:10pm 1/16: The 12 p.m. CT deadline for major-league teams to avoid arbitration with their players has passed and it appears Jay and the Cardinals have not come to terms on a deal, meaning the two sides will likely head to arbitration.
ORIGINAL STORY: Following the Cardinals’ signings of Lance Lynn, Tony Cruz, and Peter Bourjos, John Jay is the only arbitration eligible player left unsigned. Jay, 29, hit .303 with 3 home runs, 46 RBI, and 6 stolen bases in 2014, and is projected to earn $4.5 million in salary arbitration by MLB Trade Rumors.
Feature image used under Creative Commons from Keith Allison. No changes made. Image license.
Jay Image: Used under Creative Commons from Keith Allison. No changes made. Image license.
