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JUPITER, Florida. • Thanks to a commitment and a compliment calling Miles Mikolas the "pillar" of their rotation, the Cardinals gave the right-handed right-hander the opportunity to train in his hometown in the spring, to know where he would play in the years to come. come and have the certainty of a contract that he has pursued in Japan and on the back.
In short, he has gained stability.
All they ask for in return is the same.
Mikolas and the Cardinals finalized Tuesday a four-year, $ 68-million expansion that will last until the 2023 season. The announcement of the deal took place on the same day veteran veteran Adam Wainwright made his first start at spring. Starter of last season's opening day, Carlos Martinez, arrived in a sling, unable to launch before two weeks. Mikolas, 30, has become the ballast of the middle: a 200-run pitcher last season, a consistent and consistent pitcher as the Cardinals look for when a wave of young pitchers arrive and rely on them.
Wainwright, 37, sent his congratulations to Mikolas and later added that he "could not wait for you to pass the torch".
"Even if we focus on today, it's an opportunity for us to think about tomorrow," said John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations. He added, "When you combine his skills with his leadership and ability to mentor young players, he was the natural person to take this new step forward and bring it to the St. Louis Cardinals."
In his first season for three years in Asia, Mikolas led the Cardinals with 200 2/3 innings and tied for first place in the National League with 18 wins. He finished sixth by voting for the Cy Young Award and brought a regression approach to the mound. As starters get closer, beginners get into the game and there are many retreats, Mikolas was a quality classic monster. Twenty of his 32 starts included at least six innings and no more than three earned runs. Eleven times, he has pitched at least seven innings and has not awarded more than two earned runs. He was the right-handed retro who ensured the Cardinals a stable start every week and a chance for the corrector to take a break.
This is the kind of reliability needed for Cardinals, as they are young in rotation with Jack Flaherty and perhaps Alex Reyes, Austin Gomber or John Gant, and they intend to be more aggressive with the lifters.
"He's not worried about withdrawing 300 players," said Wainwright. "He'll take them when he gets them. He's going to get the guys out as fast as he can. People forget that his things are sometimes good. … We did not see what his ball could do. He has a big curved curve. He has a rough division (fastball). I think he has not really learned to be a back pitcher yet. It's a hard-thrower so hard to get out of the box. "
Mike Maddux, pitching coach, said, "I would say he is a full thrower. Reliable enough. Sustainable. Responsible. And able. It covers all abilities. What he does plays at any time of the game. "
The last game Mikolas played in the major tournaments before leaving for Japan was Maddux as pitching coach, with Texas in 2014. Mikolas pulled out eight balls before trying his luck in Japan. His low gait rate and regularity attracted the interest of Cardinals, Cubs and other teams, and he accepted a two-year offer from the Cardinals to return to the majors. He wanted a shorter agreement in order to be able to reach free will more quickly.
It was the second time that he was betting big on himself.
"Believing in me and in my business is huge, and I think every player should have that confidence – whether in your contract or even in a match – with the ability to put you in some way at stake," Mikolas said. Said. "That's what happened in Japan. It was a leap forward: "Hey, I'm going out there and I'm going to be the best Japanese baseball player I can be and see where that leads me."
The new contract does not crush his 2019 contract, although he grants him a signing bonus of $ 5 million, spread over the next five years. He will earn $ 15.75 million a year for the duration of the expansion. He and Paul DeJong are the only cardinals to have guarantees by 2023.
"Talk about an anchor," said director Mike Shildt. "I could not imagine a better anchor to go from the front."
The contract was introduced at a press conference on Tuesday night at the Roger Dean stadium, and comments from Mikolas, Mozeliak and other Cardinals were punctuated by the chatter of Mikolas' daughter and exclamations. of his twins aged 7 months. His wife, Lauren, stayed in the back of the room, hands full, said Mozeliak. Miles and his wife are both from the Jupiter area and it was part of the call to sign with the Cardinals before the 2018 season. Miles spoke frankly about the call to stay with the Cardinals to be home for the spring training and to stay in St. Louis, where he has an aunt and cousins.
Negotiations have gained "a lot of energy" over the last two weeks and came this week with a contract – about four years after Mikolas' departure from the majors to reinvent himself as a pitcher. In the past 12 months, he has added twins, won 18 games, became a star player and won a contract transforming his life.
"Sometimes I have to take a minute and catch my breath – it's usually when everyone sleeps," Mikolas says, "and I have one more minute."
He had one on the way to the stadium on Tuesday.
He saw a school-age boy running along a No. 1 American Highway near the beach and guessed that he was playing football, basketball or a sport and that He worked.
"I was this kid," said Mikolas. "To be able to see that everything is cordoned off. In winter, I'm still running. I will always be on the beach, going down to the United States, as I was 20 years ago. "
Mozeliak intervened: "Maybe fishing a little."
"As soon as the children are old enough to go around the boat," replied Mikolas. "Until then, I'm going to push a stroller while I'm running. Hang the trailer on a mountain bike. Take them for a ride.
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