Mark Ellis to St. Louis Cardinals for 1yr/$5.25 mil
The St. Louis Cardinals have signed free agent second baseman Mark Ellis to a one year, $5.25 million base salary, as reported by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. The deal also includes a million dollars worth of incentives.
Source: Ellis one-year deal with #STLCards worth $5.25M plus incentives.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 16, 2013
Ellis also can earn more than $1M in incentives with #STLCards, per source.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 16, 2013
There had been speculation Ellis would sign with the Cards, and today’s deal confirms those reports.
Ellis is a 36-year-old platoon player. He batted .270 with six home runs and 48 RBIs in 126 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. With the Cardinals, Ellis may takeover second base, and Matt Carpenter may move to third base to fill the hole left by ex-Cardinal David Freese.
The Cardinals may be slightly worse off without Freese in the lineup next year, but Ellis is considered a decent replacement because of his versatility. He can come off the bench, pinch hit, even play some third base. Freese has more potential at the plate, but Ellis can also get the job done in key situations.
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