The Cardinals have re-signed Jake Westbrook to a two-year contract with a mutual option for 2013 worth a guaranteed $16.5MM. The deal includes a full no-trade clause that was given in exchange for a non-guaranteed third year.
Westbrook, 33, joined the Cardinals in a three-team trade that sent Ryan Ludwick to the Padres and prospects to the Indians at the deadline. He pitched to a 3.48 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 75 innings for St. Louis. After missing the 2009 season due to Tommy John surgery, Westbrook's overall season looked very much like the rest of his career: an ERA in the 4.20's and lots of innings (202 2/3 to be exact).
The new deal will pay the right-hander $8MM in 2011 and $8.5MM in 2012. The 2013 option calls for a $8.5MM base salary, though he'll receive a $1MM buyout if the team declines the option. If Westbrook declines the option, he'll receive no buyout.
Ed Price of AOL FanHouse reported the agreement (via Twitter) while FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal and MLB.com's Matthew Leach provided the contract details (Twitter links).
good to know. solidifies the rotation.
Sure thing…A great addition…I expect DD to have a continuing impact on Jake and I think Carl Pavano will sign with the Marlins.
They just committed $18MM to John Buck, and Pavano’s agent is positioning him as the number 2 starter on the market, behind Cliff Lee. Doesn’t make a deal with the Marlins seem likely.
Yep, good move for the Cards. Seems like they needed to get this done since they lost a descent bat to get him. Gotta say the money isn’t bad either when guys like Lilly and Kuroda are getting $11-$12 million, eight and a quarter per for Westbrook seems pretty good.
First transaction of the day to make sense
I actually think both of the Marlins moves today were fine…I think the Uggla trade was perfectly even on both sides…
I would love to hear your reasoning on the Uggla trade.
Marlins need bullpen and Mike Dunn is a good young lefty to slot in as set up in the future. They also need a table setter leadoff kinda guy and Infante’s OBP is through the roof. Plus he plays everywhere
LOL. Infante’s OBP is “through the roof?” Since when is a career .319 OBP through the roof?
.355 last year. And if that don’t do anything for you, maybe this will:Uggla – 3.7 WARInfante – 2.9Dunn – .4The Fishies lose a little on offense, gain a little on defense and pitching, and save themselves about 4 million next year. They also get one guy under control for five years and another that is easily signable next year.The Bravos get some punch, a lot of errors up the middle, and an extra 10-11 million on their tab.
Oh yeah Uggla is 31 and playing a very demanding position. Signing him long-term is a risk and signing him for what he wanted was not even an option. Infante is 28 or 29 and moving into his prime. The Marlins did the right thing on this one.
However based on fangraphs’ numbers, the WAR disparity is much larger.
The Braves don’t need to sign him long term. They can just keep the draft picks that will come with Uggla leaving. (Of course, this is assuming the draft pick is a first rounder which in some cases is not)
Let’s also remember that Infante is coming off his best year. Before that he was very much a super utility kind of guy. Uggla, on the other hand, regularly posts up good offensive numbers. Infante’s UZR/150 numbers aren’t that great either. Better than Uggla but not so much that it makes up for the lack of offense.
Dunn posted 19 innings last year. Good ERA. However, you have to look past ERA: 19 innings pitched with 17 WALKS. 2 wild pitches. He is your typical high strikeout/bad command pitcher. Plus, he posted a 91.5 LOB percentage; which is absolutely unsustainable. In other words, he was very lucky.
The Marlins should have done better on this one. (If it weren’t for their budget constraints, I’d imagine they would’ve kept Uggla for the draft picks)
Sure thing. First of all, Infante has a chance to reach Type A status…So the Marlins could get a first round pick and a sup pick as well.
Second of all, Uggla will give you 30 Home Runs…But he is a really bad defensive 2B, Omar brings a whole different style to the Marlins, he is versatile, plays really good defensive, doesn’t strike out, has decent speed. He is also worth a 2.9 WAR…Dan Uggla wasn’t MUCH better…a 5.1 WAR.
Plus you add Michael Dunn, a 96-99 lefty, who is very young which is very hard to find…He has a chance to be Matt Thornton and what place is better to develop than in South Florida?
I think it is a perfectly even trade on both sides…
The Marlins now have 10 potential relievers on their roster…I expect Burke Badenhop and Leo Nunez to be shopped. I know they had interest in Alex Gordon. What about for Leo Nunez?
Gordon for Nunez straight up?
Infante and Dunn are taking their talents to South Beach.
Yes they are.
Not exactly. No team will sign Infante if he’s a Type A free agent. Last year he played well above his ability. He has an impossible BABIP and doesn’t take walks at all.
He’s a good player, but nothing more. Infante will come nowhere close to his 2010 campaign. The highest total UZR/150 he’s ever posted was 2.4 at 3rd base, not all that impressive.
Mike Dunn i essentially a lottery ticket, with his ceiling being a 8th inning reliever (which is good enough to close of the Marlins).
It was a salary dump and the Braves “won” the trade completely.
Assuming health…is this the best rotation in the NL, top to bottom?
Wainwright
Carpenter
Garcia
Westbrook
Lohse
If not the best, Top 5? Top 3?
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals have the number one rotation in Minor League Baseball. A trade of Butler, Duffy, and Coleman for Justin Upton would still give the Nats the number one rotation…
Best rotation in MLB, I’d have to say the Giants and the A’s…Cards are 3rd.
Take out Lohse and add Shelby Miller
right, because after spending a year at Class A Quad Cities, Miller’s definitely ready to be plugged into a Major League rotation…
Shelby Just turned 20 and finished last season in Low A ball, you won see him for another 2-3
Still better than Lohse… Bumgarner is like 21, You never know.
Bumgarner had already progressed through the farm though and had MLB experience in 09
Try Lance Lynn not Miller
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Can he also hit leadoff and play 2nd??? just wondering
Oh and ps. the cardinals blew their load on this one…..mo’s work for the off season is complete, dewallet has no taken the checkbook away from him!
OK, Brad Penny’s $7 mil came off the books and was replaced by Westbrook’s 9. The rotation doesn’t really see that much of a jump in payroll.
False. At a minimum we will also bring in Uribe, O-Dog or Tejada.
Good sign, Now time to sign O-Dog, and see what Dave Duncan can do with Pedro Martinez.
pedro martinez? really i think were better off with loshe than martinez over 40 and rapidly decreaseing although a hall of famer in his own right dont think he would fit the bill i mean yeah it would be cool to see him play in the STL but i really dont think its plausable
How is the Giants rotation better Larry?! you are stupid. They have Lincecum, Cain, and Bermgarner…………Sanchez and Zito suck!!! Oh wait!!! THINK BEFORE YOU POST
Bumgarner*
and yes Zito is horrible man did you see his 2nd half stats? he was back to be the giants zito
Oh yeah I forgot, the guy with the lowest H/9 in the league, lowest ERA on the staff (outside of MadBum who joined halfway), and among the leaders in strikeouts sucks. Ignorance like this just make me speechless.
2 years and 16.5million? what a bargain. 8.25million each year seems like a sweet deal. of course the buyout would increase that but on the surface, it looks pretty fair.
Now the rotation is pretty much set. Time to go get an upgrade at 2B for Schumacher. Orlando Hudson…a spot is waiting for ya. 2 year deal with a 3rd year option. And, of course, resign Albert.
Na.. go after Steven Drew or Uribe.. Dont see Cardinals going after Hudson. I would like to see Rent come back cheap and as a utility guy though.
Drew is slim to none. I don’t think the Cards have what it would take to get Drew unless they were willing to part with Miller. Been said that Arizona is asking for the moon. And Uribe I’d be okay with…for the pop alone…but then you’re back in the same boat of “who leads off?” because Uribe will be the 2B and the Cards Of is pretty much settled with Holliday, Rasmus (who won’t be traded) and a platoon of Jay/Craig
Which is why the Cards should go after Jose Reyes. He’s coming off a down year and the Mets need to shed someone. As long as it wouldn’t take Miller to get him I’d be happy with just about any trade.
Why not let the Cardinals get 2 Mets players with bad contracts off the books. If they add Beltran and we can throw in Craig or Jay. Beltran kill The Cardinals in Busch Stadium.
I would love have Reyes but he would cost way too much in the future and the Mets already picked up his option so that trade isnt going to happen.
we’re going to upgrade offensively at short not second people, id be willing to bank on it. Skip hits between .270-.300, im fine with him at second. defensively with Alberts range at first im fine with him. John Moz said his priority is an upgrade at short. Bank on Uribe or Tejada, they can both play short, and spell freese at 3rd when he needs it, one of them is the obvious fit
That won’t happen. Brendan Ryan will be starting in 2011. Uribe will want to much, and he may be 43 years old. Tejada will want less, but he’s probably 43 too.
O-DOG CITY
I like the O-Dog too but with the way Mo and TLR operate they’re going to want someone who can play multiple positions. Even though Uribe is going to want a lot I think Mo is willing to invest what it takes to get a guy like that. It sucks the Giants won the WS because now his stock is going to be even higher. I’d be fine with Tejada on a one year deal.
Anyone else that plays SS for the Cardinals is a defensive downgrade, and then they still have to deal with Schumaker playing 2B. The move is to sign Uribe to play 2B, keep Ryan at SS, and move Schu back to RF. Otherwise this pitch-to-contact staff will give up a ton of hits & runs in 2011.
Pretty good rotation:Adam Wainwright
Chris Carpenter
Jaime Garcia
Jake Westbrook
Kyle Loshe or somebody else
So they can blow $16 mil on a secondary level pitcher, but they had to trade Ludwick because there was not enough money to resign him? Sounds like the LaRussa media machine is at work again.
That’s one reason. Another would be that there’s no way the Cards had a chance at the postseason without another SP.
or maybe we were working with a rotation of 1 stud, 1 guy that was coming off 2 major injuries, and a rookie-so basically 60% of a rotation. and we had a surplus of outfielders so it was dealing from strength. but don’t let the full story get in the way of your cherry picking, continue.
I’d say we over paid quite a bit. 2 years $14MM is about as much as I would be willing to offer
Ted Lilly just got 3/33. Kuroda just got 1/12.
Is one year of Kuroda worth $2 million more than two years Westbook? No. Granted we’re talking about deals Ned Colleti made but still, Westbrook is younger and cheaper than those two. If anything it seems to me like Westbrook could have held out for more.
Tim is 1/3.
ANY rotation with Jake Westbrook AND Kyle Lohse CANNOT be considered the best rotation.
Period. End of story, Cardinal fans.
yeah your completely right, cause westbrooks 3.5 era at the end of the year with the cards was awful. now lohse is crap but the fact there is two pitchers that pitch around 2.5 era often, and a young one who pitches around 3 and westbrook around 3.5 or even 3.75… your right that is crap, same as your opinion.
Awful lot of Garcia love flying around.
Maybe it’s just my propensity toward caution with players who have season out of nowhere, but we really should let him get another season under his belt before we start making claims like “a young one who pitches around 3 [ERA].” The projections put him much closer to 4 next year, which is similar to this year’s FIP and xFIP — which is still not a bad pitcher, but is nowhere near the elite level that “around 3” implies. If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t he having some injury concerns late in the year as well in part due to concerns about his innings?
Give it another year before we start claiming his ERA is going to be among the top 15 pitchers in baseball (based on 2010–and ironically including himself).
I don’t think there was much in the way of injury concerns. More like a concerned manager who said before the season he was going to limit the rookie’s innings.
I think Garcia will develop into a strong starter, but I don’t see him having the stuff to be a top 15 pitcher (like you said). Looks like a lefty Joel Piniero to me (keep the ball down. Throw a lot of junk). Joel’s had some good years after learning from DD, so that’s no slight against Jaime. He’s just crafty, not overpowering or dominant, which means every now and again he’s going to get slapped around a bit. Still a quality #3 (cost controlled too!).
I don’t think there was much in the way of injury concerns. More like a concerned manager who said before the season he was going to limit the rookie’s innings.
I think Garcia will develop into a strong starter, but I don’t see him having the stuff to be a top 15 pitcher (like you said). Looks like a lefty Joel Piniero to me (keep the ball down. Throw a lot of junk). Joel’s had some good years after learning from DD, so that’s no slight against Jaime. He’s just crafty, not overpowering or dominant, which means every now and again he’s going to get slapped around a bit. Still a quality #3 (cost controlled too!).
It’s at best #3 in the NL and probably #4. Whole team is overrated, if you ask me.
Oooooh. Somebody has issues. Probably a Cubs fan.
Actually, since we haven’t even started the first full season with this as the Cards’ rotation, isn’t it the beginning of the story?
I still don’t see why you say he “pitched TO” a 3.48 ERA
Hate this deal. They overpaid by about $4 million a year. It’s not good to spend that much money on a #4 starter when you have so many holes in your lineup. Plus they have to be able to afford Pujols too.
Wainwright > Lincecum
Carpenter Sanchez
Westbrook < Bumgarner
Lohse = Zito–they're both terrible
Maybe you should have thought a little bit more yourself.
Wow you win the World Series on a fluke and now you have the best rotation in baseball?? I would take the Cards rotation over the Giants any day…
You’re delusional if you think Cain is better than Carpenter, maybe long term going into the future but Cain has a couple years to go before he passes that line. The Cards and Giants easily have the two best rotations in baseball but I actually believe signing Westbrook brings them down, they would’ve been much better bringing in Vasquez or Webb. I can’t imagine what Duncan would have done with either one of them. Westbrook is a 6 inning 3-4 run pitcher and the Cards have far from a shutdown BP. This move makes zero sense for them and I really think Mo and TLR are running that franchise to the ground. They overpay in area’s they don’t need to and underpay in area’s they do. They would have been better served bringing in Lance Lynnn from their farm system if they couldn’t retain Vasquez or Webb
Wainwright over Lincecum? Bwa ha ha ha ha ha !! You can have the Cardinal rotation, I’m very happy with what the Giants have.
You wish Lohse = Zito.
Personally I hate Lincecum, he’s a pothead, but I still think him and Wainwright are very close talent-wise.
Wainwright < Halladay
Carpenter < Hamels
Garcia < Oswalt
Westbrook = Blanton
Lohse =, maybe < Kendrick or whoever they might pick up this winter.
And the Braves don't look to shabby either.
Giants scored 697 runs in 2010
Cards scored 736 runs in 2010
Giants record 92-70 in the decent NL West
Cards record 86-76 in the putrid NL Central
Giants scored fewer runs and yet won more games against superior opponents.
Fluke?? That was the Cardinals in 2006.
How was it a fluke? Looked to me like they basically out pitched and out hit everyone they played. Granted their BABIP was a little high, but getting hot at the right time is the secret to winning in the playoffs.
How was it a fluke? Looked to me like they basically out pitched and out hit everyone they played. Granted their BABIP was a little high, but getting hot at the right time is the secret to winning in the playoffs.
Westbrook was great for the Cardinals second half.. now that he is settled in Im sure hes going to be amazing… Im just worried about the rotation staying healthy.
I’m sorry, but I would take Cain over the “new” old Card anyday. And how does Webb or Vasquez make the rotation better than Westbrook? Webb won’t throw over 100 innings next season if he even pitches at all, and Vasquez came off a Lohse-like season a year ago. Stop living in the past, man, it’s soon to be 2011.
I can’t believe everyone that is on the Vasquez bus especially you. He is old and one good season in recent memory and he is a picher that is really only looking for K’s, that does not at all fit in to what duncan preaches, there would be conflict there. And your being completely moronic if you think Webb is going to be himself this year, he is already messes with new arm slots cause he cant throw how he used to(sounds like an issue). Duncan fixes bad mechanics and brings in a good approach, not health jacked up sholders. Look what Duncan did with Mulder, nothing because he cant heal wounds. Also if anyone thought Webb was going to be himself or anywhere close to it then the d-backs would have certainly never let him go. Also Lynn had a great start last year but was pitiful the rest of the year, check his stats, he started off so good and his rest of the year was bad enough to make it to where his stats were nt recgonizable as a good pitcher. I cannot believe how stupid you are that you think westbrooks, 3.45 era brought us down. I know westbrook has had health troubles but those seem to be gone. If you think this move made zero sense you must have missed out on how well lohse pitched last year, and also how carp is a walking time bomb, and how garcia just came off surgery straight into the most innings he has ever pitched.
I am not the biggest fan of TLR but if you think he run our organization into the ground go support the cubs. They underpay because they dont want to pay big bucks or a first round pick that they do not think there is a good option for. Like this year you want us to spend 8 to 9 mil on what SS or 2B, there all crap so why overpay for crap when you already have something solid right in front of that you have seen. Seriously go be a fan of the Cubs or the Mets especially cause they need a knew moron to run their organizations.
Don’t jump to conclusions so fast in regard to the Cards being done signing pitchers. If last year taught the team anything it’s that depth in the rotation is how to win Championships. I fully expect them to be shaking trees for low hanging fruit come late December/Early January, perhaps not a Vasquez or a Webb but there’s a perfectly reasonable expectation that the team could throw a million or so at Brad Penny again (he was enormously successful until his back injury) or perhaps Jeremy Bonderman. I’m not about to imagine a rotation of Waino, Carp, Garcia, Westbrook and Webb but adding a couple of live arms that could also work out of the bullpen never hurts. As with everything else this off-season, it all comes down to how much Albert really wants. By the way, has anybody else pondered the possibility of a Dontrelle Willis – Dave Duncan partnership? It’s not like anybody is going to be throwing millions at the guy any time soon.
Don’t jump to conclusions so fast in regard to the Cards being done signing pitchers. If last year taught the team anything it’s that depth in the rotation is how to win Championships. I fully expect them to be shaking trees for low hanging fruit come late December/Early January, perhaps not a Vasquez or a Webb but there’s a perfectly reasonable expectation that the team could throw a million or so at Brad Penny again (he was enormously successful until his back injury) or perhaps Jeremy Bonderman. I’m not about to imagine a rotation of Waino, Carp, Garcia, Westbrook and Webb but adding a couple of live arms that could also work out of the bullpen never hurts. As with everything else this off-season, it all comes down to how much Albert really wants. By the way, has anybody else pondered the possibility of a Dontrelle Willis – Dave Duncan partnership? It’s not like anybody is going to be throwing millions at the guy any time soon.
This is why I hate when anybody but the Yankees wins the World Series. People start thinking they have the “ideal franchise” and all their players are superior to the opponents’. Compare the two pitchers, mind you Little Timmy plays in a pitcher-friendly division, and laugh all the way to Fact Town.
Wainwright over Lincecum anyday.
Wainwright finished 2nd in 2010 NL Cy Young voting. Lincecum finished 11th. Lincecum winning the CY in 2009 was the biggest joke in MLB history.
I had to laugh at that one too. Wainwright is good, but I’ll take the skinny kid over anyone in the NL right now. Halladay is great right now, but Lincecum has the bigger upside.
Maybe that was because we lost 2/3 of our rotation for most of the year genius!
The Central really really is a low-rent division. You have one good team, one over-rated team and three teams that can’t get out of their own way. The East was kind of funky last year too, but it looks real competitive in ’11. The Central? Meh…
Look Im not dogin on the Giants.. Im just saying (like my team the Cards), the Giants won the world series on a fluke.
True in a sense but the Cardinals the previous two seasons were the most talented team in baseball and ran into the RedSox after coming back from 3-0 in 04′. The Cardinals had a stellar team for a few years prior so it didn’t surprise me that they won, just that they underperformed incredibly in the regular season and had tons of injuries as well but the Cardinals were easily the team of the Decade for the NL
the Cardinals 06 team wasn’t a fluke. they could have won 90 games, if they had a healthy Mark Mulder on their staff, he started off well and then got hurt. The team the got hit with injuries during the season. And they found guys like Jeff Weaver, and others to help out the team (players who no one wanted). And players then got healthy as the team went into the postseason, and they stayed hot in the entire playoffs. The Padres were even said to beat the Cards, then the Mets were said to beat them, and then the Tigers were said to win the WS over the Cardinals. I think the Tigers lost because, of their mistakes (as in making errors) and having like a week off. In a lot of ways the 2010 Giants, remind me of the 06 Cards and the 93 Phillies. Both teams found players who no one wanted, and then ended up coming together as a team.
the Cardinals 06 team wasn’t a fluke. they could have won 90 games, if they had a healthy Mark Mulder on their staff, he started off well and then got hurt. The team the got hit with injuries during the season. And they found guys like Jeff Weaver, and others to help out the team (players who no one wanted). And players then got healthy as the team went into the postseason, and they stayed hot in the entire playoffs. The Padres were even said to beat the Cards, then the Mets were said to beat them, and then the Tigers were said to win the WS over the Cardinals. I think the Tigers lost because, of their mistakes (as in making errors) and having like a week off. In a lot of ways the 2010 Giants, remind me of the 06 Cards and the 93 Phillies. Both teams found players who no one wanted, and then ended up coming together as a team.
Yes, they were a fluke.
But I haven’t seen anyone post that their rotation was evenly matched with the best in baseball, so I don’t see how that point is relevant to the discussion at all.
Ya, Cards won the WS on a fluke in 2006.. Do any of you morons understand the concept of a fluke??? WOW. Some people are stupid.
bigger than Jeter winning gold gloves? i doubt it..
Pfft. How? Timmeh had a lower ERA, better K/9, better K/BB ratio, gave up fewer dingers, had a lower WHIP, was worth more WAR, better FIP, tERA, etc. etc. etc.
haha, you UPGRADED your rotation when you lost Lohse, genius
Whats being a pothead gotta do with anything?
Nothing. Just one of the reasons I don’t like him. I’m still saying he’s one of the best pitchers in the Majors though..
Other than it’s against the rules, it’s a valid question.
He seems to think he’s the coolest thing around because he smokes pot. I agree, it pisses me off.
The guys that voted Jeter the GG are the same guys that gave Lincecum 11th place in the CY. What does this tell you?
Well right now he’s a lot cooler than you, so you better get to work.
I don’t see what he does to promote his smoking of pot.
Ww < Doc agreed.Carpenter = OswaltGarcia < HamelsWestbrook > BlantonLohse ?? Phillies 5th SPPhillies > Cards, agreed — but not by too much.Oswalt and Carp are better than Hamels in 2011, I think. Therefore, Hamels is the 3rd starter in 2011. 2012 might be a different story.
That they are schizophrenic?
“against the rules”
Don’t you mean illegal??
You’re crazy if you think that the 06 Cardinals were a fluke. Did you watch them when they got healthy and played well in the playoffs? That’s why they won it all in 06. Because, they got healthy near the end of the season and played well in the playoffs. And like I said in my post above, I think the Tigers lost because, of their mistakes (as in making errors) and having like a week off. But, lets say the Tigers didn’t make mistakes and played well. The series might have gone to 7 games.
Hey, I love that team as much as the next guy, but getting lights-out performances from Suppan, Anthony Reyes, and Jeff Weaver was somewhat random. But you raise a good point – the Cards won in 5 games, they still would have won in 7 games without one or two of those out-of-nowhere performances.
No one ever expected them to win or even get to the world series.. The fact they got hot at the right time and won the show makes it a fluke.