Another day, another in-depth Yasiel Puig article

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You have to figure Scott Eden of ESPN was a bit cheesed off that L.A. Magazine beat him to the punch on a competing in-depth article about Yasiel Puig’s journey to the United States. But even if he wasn’t first, Eden’s is still excellently-reported and well-researched.

Many of the same beats: getting out of Cuba is really hard, and it creates some perverse incentives and awful choices for people. Puig almost certainly ratted out other would-be defectors, either because he felt he had to or felt it would draw attention away from himself. There are lawsuits about that now, though it’s an open question whether U.S. courts are the best place for such things.

More broadly, the entire process inevitably causes someone in Puig’s shoes to be wary of anyone he doesn’t know, even to this day. And no matter what led up to his defection, his flight itself was harrowing and its repercussions continue to this day. He was shaken down by people who did not have his best interests in mind before, during and after he defected, and even if he’s far better off now for having endured it all, it’s no less troubling what he had to go through.

I still have the same takeaways I had after the L.A. Mag piece earlier this week. I’ve said most of them enough already so I won’t annoy you with them once again. But Ben Badler of Baseball America — retweeting something he first said last summer — still makes a fantastic point:

Cardinals sign pitcher Miles Mikolas to 3-year, $55.75M deal

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Rhona Wise/USA TODAY Sports
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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.