By Chris Brown / STL Baseball Today | @cbrown_STLBBT | March 11, 2016, 6:58 pm CT
By Keith Allison / CC Image / No changes made
Updated at 8:34 pm CT with additional details:
Cardinals postseason hero David Freese is returning to the NL Central, as the third baseman signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, the team announced.
Freese is guaranteed $3 million dollars in the contract, which contains no incentive clauses, Rob Biertempfel of of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.
Drafted in the ninth round of the 2006 amateur draft by the Padres, Freese was traded to the Cardinals roughly 1 1/2 years later in the deal that sent aging redbirds centerfielder Jim Edmonds to San Diego. Freese made his big league debut in 2009, and from 2011-2013 averaged 13 home runs and 65 RBIs per season while hitting a collective .283 to go along with steady, but not spectacular defense in the hot corner.
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Of course, the soon-to-be 33-year-old is best remembered in St. Louis as the hero in the Cardinals incredible comeback in Game 6 of the 2011 World Series, in which he won World Series MVP.
The next year was a career season for Freese, who hit .293 with 20 home runs and 79 RBIs while being voted onto the NL All-Star team.
After a 2012 season in which he dealt with injury, a drop in performance, and a subsequent loss in playing time (with Matt Carpenter shifting to third), Freese involved in the offseason trade that sent him and reliever Fernando Salas to the Angels in exchange for outfielders Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk.
Playing in Los Angeles the last two seasons, Freese hit 10 and 14 homers, respectively, to go with a collective .258/.322/.401 batting line.
The veteran infielder will provide flexibility and depth to a Pirates infield which will be without shortstop/third baseman Jung Ho Kang for the first few weeks as he recovers from knee surgery. As MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets, Freese will likely start the season as Pittsburgh’s third baseman before moving into a platoon role at first base and backup at third once Kang returns.
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The Cardinals will see plenty of their former third baseman this year with the Pirates, as the two teams will face each 19 times, including in series at the beginning (April 3-6) and end (September 30 – October 2) of the season.
