Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright has officially signed a five-year, $97.5MM extension that includes a no-trade clause, preventing him from hitting the free agent market next offseason. Here's a roundup of reactions from around the internet.
- Wainwright's contract is an example of "sticker shock" in MLB salaries, Jonah Keri at Grantland writes. Keri points out that the average annual value of Wainwright's contract is comparable to those of Matt Cain and Jered Weaver, but Cain and Weaver are younger and didn't recently miss a year due to Tommy John surgery, as Wainwright did in 2011. But that doesn't necessarily make it a bad deal, Keri says, because of changing economic circumstances throughout the game.
- The Cardinals "paid a premium" for Wainwright, writes Steven Goldman of SB Nation. Goldman points to Wainwright's lower velocity last year as cause for concern. "Wainwright and the Cardinals are both looking for security in this deal, but if that's the case only one party to the deal will be sleeping well at night," says Goldman.
- If Wainwright had been allowed to leave via free agency after the 2013 season, the Cardinals would have missed his leadership, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch argues. "With Chris Carpenter's career ruined by chronic pitching-health issues, and Jaime Garcia not possessing the hard-wiring to be a leader type, the Cardinals faced a potential void at the top," says Miklasz. "If Wainwright had left as a free agent after the 2013 season, who would guide the young pitchers?"
- At the press conference to announce his signing, Wainwright himself had kind words for the city of St. Louis, the Associated Press reports. "I feel like my heart is in St. Louis," said Wainwright.
