Ryan Braun has numbness in his thumb: surgery a possibility - MLB

The one thing Ryan Braun needed to do this year in order to quiet the naysayers was to put up a typical Ryan Braun season. Well, it wouldn’t quiet all of the naysayers, because even if he passes every drug test for the rest of his life people will say that he’s using some new, undetectable PED because that’s how a lot of people like to think. We can agree, however, that if he puts up a sucky season that people will say “see, he was a PED creation!”

And they’ll say that even if he’s injured. Which, he seems to be. And it could be serious. His thumb is numb and it could result in surgery:

Short version: Thumb is numb because of a nerve problem. So he can’t tell how hard he’s gripping the ball & has developed bad blisters.

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) April 4, 2014

Braun’s options: Figure a way to manage it, or surgery. Doesn’t want to even talk about the latter option yet. More to come on the site.

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) April 4, 2014

Braun is in the lineup DHing today in Boston. But if the problem doesn’t go away soon, he could miss a lot of time.

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.