CARDINALS REWARD MIKOLAS WITH DEAL
Miles Mikolas is sticking with the St. Louis Cardinals.
The right-hander signed a $55.75 million, three-year contract on Friday that will carry through the 2025 season.
The new deal replaces a $68 million, four-year contract signed in February 2019 that covered the 2020-23 seasons and was set to pay $15.75 million this year.
Mikolas will receive a $5 million signing bonus payable July 1 and will make $18.75 million in 2023 and $16 million in each of the following two seasons. Mikolas can earn a $250,000 bonus for winning a Cy Young Award, $50,000 for All-Star election or selection or winning a Gold Glove, $100,000 for League Championship Series MVP and $150,000 for World Series MVP.
Mikolas is scheduled to make the second openingday start of his big-league career next Thursday when the Cardinals host Toronto. Mikolas went 12-13 with a 3.29 ERA last season while helping St. Louis to the NL Central title.
“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,” St. Louis GM John Mozeliak said in a statement.
Mikolas is 45-40 with a 3.79 in 143 games with the Padres, Texas and St. Louis. He recently pitched six shutout innings in two appearances for the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic.
Nola vs. deGrom set
The Rangers aren’t wasting any time in seeing what they have in Jacob deGrom.
The ace right-hander, who signed a five-year, $185 million contract with the Rangers in the offseason, will face Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola when the 2023 Major League Baseball season opens next Thursday.
All 30 clubs will be in action that day for the first time since 1968.
This will be deGrom’s fourth career opening-day start. The two-time Cy Young winner got the nod from 201921 while pitching for the Mets. Texas has been cautious with deGrom during spring training after the 34-year-old reported tightness in his left side right before team workouts began in February.
His work over the last month has been solid enough that the Rangers did not hesitate in making deGrom the seventh different pitcher to get the ball on opening day for the team in the last seven years.
“Early, we had to hold him back a little bit, but we think he’s good to go,” new Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “We have the day off after opening day, so we can cover him. We’re not looking for him to take us real deep in the game or anything. So this just makes all of the sense in the world to us.”
Eight Cy Young winners in all will take the mound on March 30, including Corey Kluber, who will make his first start for Boston when the Red Sox face Baltimore. Kluber is the first newcomer to start Boston’s first game since David Price in 2016.
Miami’s Sandy Alcantara will the first Marlins pitcher to start four straight openers when he takes on three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer and the Mets. Alcantara, a unanimous choice for the NL Cy Young in 2022, will break a tie with Josh Beckett (2003-05) and Josh Johnson (2010-12) for most opening-day starts in club history.
Angels star Shohei Ohtani, fresh off leading Japan to the World Baseball Classic title, will make his second straight opening-day start for Los Angeles. Ohtani set career-highs last year in wins (15), ERA (2.33), strikeouts (216) and innings pitched (166). Ohtani and the Angels begin the season against Oakland left-hander
Kyle Muller, who will be making his first opening-day start.
New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole will join C.C. Sabathia, Jack Chesbro and
Mel Stottlemyre as the only pitchers in team history to start four straight opening days when the Yankees host the Giants.