Cardinals Sign David Aardsma

After being released by the Indians, reliever David Aardsma has signed with the Cardinals, according to a report from Derick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (links to Twitter). The contract is a minor league deal, meaning he will still need to earn a roster spot.

Aardsma, 32, threw 39 2/3 frames for the Mets last year, posting a 4.31 ERA, after a long layoff due to Tommy John surgery. He notched 8.2 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9, while generating just a 32.8% ground-ball rate. Advanced metrics were all over the map last year for Aardsma — 5.27 FIP; 4.63 xFIP; 4.01 SIERA. As Steve Adams wrote in discussing Aardsma's release from Cleveland, the righty has not regained his pre-surgery, mid-90s fastball velocity, so it remains to be seen whether he will be able to continue improving back towards his strong form over 2009-10, when he served as the Mariners closer.