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Cardinals Exercise John Lackey’s Option

By Steve Adams | October 30, 2014 at 4:02pm CDT

The Cardinals have exercised their league-minimum option on right-hander John Lackey, per a report from the Associated Press.

The move is little more than a formality, as there was never any real doubt that the Cardinals would exercise the mere $500K option. That option was a large part of the reason that Lackey was so desirable at this year’s trade deadline and a large part of the reason that the club was willing to part with both Joe Kelly and Allen Craig to land him.

Lackey’s original five-year, $82.5MM contract with the Red Sox contained a clause stipulating that if he were to miss a year due to a significant elbow injury, Boston would gain a sixth-year option at the league minimum rate. Lackey underwent Tommy John surgery during the life of that original five-year term, thus triggering the clause. Though the salary is obviously not ideal for Lackey, he has said multiple times that he plans to honor the commitment.

Lackey, who turned 36 last week, pitched to a 3.82 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 198 innings for the Red Sox and Cardinals this season. However, he was markedly better with Boston than he was with St. Louis, as he posted a 3.60 ERA (3.56 FIP) with the Sox compared to a 4.30 ERA (4.27 FIP) with the Cards.

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Boston Red Sox Newsstand Transactions John Lackey

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View Comments (21)
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21 Comments

  1. LazerTown

    11 years ago

    The bigger question is whether Lackey will retire. He is essentially working for free based on how much he made in his career.

    Reply
    • Rally Weimaraner

      11 years ago

      I though we had finally gotten past that discussion.

      Reply
    • UK Tiger

      11 years ago

      Yeah its a strange one thats for sure.

      Coming down from $15.25m to 500k, one hell of a comedown.

      Hes no doubt rueing the day he allowed that clause to be inserted into his deal.

      Reply
      • Rally Weimaraner

        11 years ago

        Lackey has made 108 MM already, I think he will survive.

        Reply
        • UK Tiger

          11 years ago

          Oh no doubt, but that wasnt my point.

          Still, id like to suffer through “only” $500,000 for the year too.

          Reply
          • LazerTown

            11 years ago

            I would too at this stage, but if I had already made $108MM there is a big chance I would walk away. 162 game season is grueling.

            Reply
        • LazerTown

          11 years ago

          He will survive, but does he have the drive to continue through it, in order to keep playing. People value there time too.

          Reply
      • Melvin Mendoza, Jr.

        11 years ago

        Yeah, some guys just can’t catch a break 😛

        Reply
    • stl_cards16

      11 years ago

      He has said many times that he is honoring the contract. So I guess if you want to keep asking it, go ahead. It’s been answered for quite a while.

      Reply
      • oh Hal

        11 years ago

        I think I remember him answering that question and he didn’t seem to have a problem with it.

        Reply
    • Seamaholic

      11 years ago

      No, the bigger question is whether he’s gonna stink. Because he kind of did when he joined the Cards. Not sure he’s one of the Cards’ top 5 guys, to be honest. Although he’d be an intriguing piece of trade bait with that contract.

      Reply
  2. Jeff Hill

    11 years ago

    And the biggest no brain decision of the offseason goes to the cards and exercising Lackey’s option

    Reply
  3. Vincent Cooney

    11 years ago

    I think Lackey will play. As long as he can continue to play the children’s game, he will, regardless of what he is being paid, because it is a terrible feeling when you no longer can, and to walk away voluntarily over money seems illogical. If he’s good enough to play, he’ll stick around. If the game tells him he’s no longer good enough, he’ll pack it in.

    Reply
  4. Mikenmn

    11 years ago

    I’m not a huge fan, but I think Lackey will make a legitimate effort, if for no other reason to at least keep his options open for 2016. I also think that most of these guys, like them or not, are in fact professionals, and the idea of purely tanking is probably anathema to them. What pitcher would want to go out with a 5+ ERA and a reputation as a dog?

    Reply
  5. oh Hal

    11 years ago

    Probable starting 5 – Wainwright, Lynn, Miller, Lackey I assume and who am I forgetting?

    Reply
    • Lee Foo Young

      11 years ago

      Wacha?

      I am a Pirate fan and I am not happy looking at that rotation. lol

      Reply
      • oh Hal

        11 years ago

        Ah, of course.

        Reply
  6. Seamaholic

    11 years ago

    Ha, another pitcher who did better in the AL than the NL.

    Reply
  7. Unassisted Triple Play

    11 years ago

    Wow! This is a tremendous deal! It’s like getting a solid rotation piece for free. I wonder who they are going to add with the $ they are saving here!?

    Reply
  8. z3rogs

    11 years ago

    He should just say that he already got paid for 2015 – the year he didn’t play.

    Reply
  9. baseballf

    11 years ago

    He was paid while injured so he was essentially prepaid for the coming year. Have to admire the man for honoring his commitment in a time when most players probably wouldn’t because their agents would advise them not to. My guess is we will soon be reading about a multi-year deal for Lackey that reworks this one year option.

    Reply

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