St. Louis Cardinals re-sign pitcher Jake Westbrook
The St. Louis Cardinals signed veteran right-handed pitcher Jake Westbrook to a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $16.5m on Tuesday 16 November. The deal includes a no-trade clause, and a mutual option
for 2013.
Westbrook could probably have signed a three-year deal with another club on the free agent market, but his desire to stay in St. Louis drove him to opt for a two-year deal with the option year.
"I didn't want it to get to the point where I had the [possibility] of the Cardinals maybe finding somebody else and thinking that I didn't really want to be there," Westbrook said. "I knew I wanted to
be a part of this team, and I was glad to get something done now. Now I can just not worry about it. I'm looking forward to a full season with the Cardinals."
Westbrook will receive $8m in 2011 and $8.5m in 2012. If Westbrook decides not to play in St. Louis for the third year he walks away from the team as a free agent with no money owed to him. If he decides
to stay with the team for the third year the club can either pay him $8.5 million, or buy him out for $1 million.
"We're all thrilled," said general manager John Mozeliak. "We really think it sets up our rotation to be very strong in 2011."
St. Louis acquired Westbrook from the Cleveland Indians at the non-waiver Trade Deadline last season. Westbrook played in 12 games for the Cardinals, going 4-4 with a 3.48 ERA.
"The reason it became so important was because of how well he fit in the organization, how he worked with the staff," Mozeliak said. "It just seemed like a great fit."
St. Louis had an 86-76 record last season. They finished second in the NL Central, five games behind the Cincinnati Reds. They were also five games behind the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card race. A full
season with Westbrook should help them close that gap in 2011.
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