Free-agent relief pitcher Brett Cecil will have a new home for the first time in his eight-year MLB career, as he signed a four-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported the deal was worth $30.5 million.
“The Cecil market escalated quickly. Teams realized three years wasn’t gonna get it done, and St. Louis coveted him enough to go four,” Passan added.
Cecil is coming off his worst season since 2012 with the Toronto Blue Jays, as he posted a 1-7 record with a 3.93 ERA while allowing 39 hits in 36.2 innings.
He was hampered by a triceps injury that kept him sidelined from mid-May to mid-June and allowed 13 runs in his first 24 appearances, with his ERA swelling to 6.75.
He finished strong, however, surrendering just one run in his final 17 appearances. Cecil’s curveball was the pitch he relied heavily upon:
Cecil used the pitch 45.4 percent of the time last season, which was the highest mark of his career, per FanGraphs.
The left-hander posted a sub-3.00 ERA each year from 2013 to 2015, and he made an All-Star appearance in 2013, when he finished 5-1 with a 2.82 ERA and 11 holds in 60.2 innings.
The Cardinals will hope he can regain that form in 2017 and become an asset to their bullpen.
St. Louis boasts a strong and deep relief corps, but it was in dire need of another quality southpaw to support Kevin Siegrist.
Zach Duke did well in that regard last season, but he is expected to miss all of 2017 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in early October.
That created a major void, but if Cecil can bounce back from a subpar 2016, he is an ideal option to fill it.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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