Orioles add righty power, get Michael Morse from Mariners - MLB

Baltimore wasn’t able to come to an agreement with Minnesota for Josh Willingham, but the Orioles have added a right-handed power hitter in acquiring Michael Morse from Seattle for Triple-A outfielder Xavier Avery.

Morse, unlike Willingham, is an impending free agent, so the Mariners were perfectly willing to let him go following a very disappointing season. He got off to a big start in April, but Morse is batting just .214 with four homers and a .613 OPS in his last 50 games and also missed five weeks with a quadriceps injury.

When he’s playing well Morse provides very good power from the right side, but he’s a brutal defensive outfielder and has a measly .305 on-base percentage with an ugly 177/36 K/BB ratio in 178 games since the beginning of last season. Of course, the Orioles will probably use him mostly at designated hitter, where his defense wouldn’t be an issue, and their DHs have hit a combined .217 with a .672 OPS this season.

Avery is a speedy, light-hitting 23-year-old who projects as a backup outfielder, so for a cheap one-month pickup Morse makes some sense for Baltimore.

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ST. LOUIS — Miles Mikolas is sticking with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The right-hander signed a three-year, $55.75 million contract on Friday that will carry through the 2025 season.

The new deal replaces a $68 million, four-year contract signed in February 2019 that covered the 2020-23 seasons and was set to pay $15.75 million this year.

Mikolas will receive a $5 million signing bonus payable July 1 and will make $18.75 million in 2023 and $16 million in each of the following two seasons. Mikolas can earn a $250,000 bonus for winning a Cy Young Award, $50,000 for All-Star election or selection or winning a Gold Glove, $100,000 for League Championship Series MVP and $150,000 for World Series MVP.

Mikolas is scheduled to make the second opening-day start of his big league career next Thursday when the Cardinals host Toronto. Mikolas went 12-13 with a 3.29 ERA last season while helping St. Louis to the NL Central title.

“Miles stands among the top pitchers in the game today, and has continued to provide a steady presence for us both in the rotation and inside the clubhouse,” St. Louis general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement.

Mikolas is 45-40 with a 3.79 in 143 games with San Diego, Texas and St. Louis. He recently pitched six shutout innings in two appearances for the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic.