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Cardinals bringing back pitcher Adam Wainwright on one-year deal

By Scott Rogust

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 21: Starting pitcher Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals throws in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on September 21, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 21: Starting pitcher Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals throws in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on September 21, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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The St. Louis Cardinals are bringing back veteran pitcher Adam Wainwright for the 2021 season.

This offseason, the St. Louis Cardinals decided to let veterans Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina test the open market. Given that the NL Central is shockingly underspending this winter, the Cardinals figured they could wait. After some pressure from a surprise team, the Cardinals got a deal done with the veteran pitcher.

According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Cardinals are bringing back Wainwright on what is believed to be a one-year contract, worth $8 million.

Wainwright returns after testing the open market

Earlier on Thursday, a report indicated that Wainwright received interest from the San Diego Padres, who actually extended an offer to the right-handed starter. This is the very team that acquired Blake Snell, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove in trades this offseason. Seeing this, the Cardinals obviously rushed to get a deal done with Wainwright to ensure he doesn’t sign elsewhere.

Wainwright has spent the entirety of his 15-year career with the Cardinals, and seeing him wearing another uniform would have taken some getting used to. During his lengthy tenure in St. Louis, Wainwright was a three-time All-Star (2010, 2013-14), two-time NL wins leader (2009, 2013) and won the 2006 World Series for the Cardinals.

After several years of bloated ERA’s, Wainwright bounced back in a huge way for the Cardinals in the truncated 2020 season. Through 10 starts, Wainwright recorded a 3.15 ERA, a 1.051 WHIP and 54 strikeouts in 65.2 innings of work. Additionally, Wainwright led the league in complete games with two.

Prior to the signing, the entire NL Central division spent a grand total of $4.4 million this offseason. Now, the number increases by $8 million after the Cardinals opted to re-sign Wainwright. All that’s left to appease Cardinals fans is for the organization to bring back Molina as well, but they’d have to give him an offer to pry him away from retirement.

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