Dontrelle Willis considering becoming a pitching coach - MLB

Dontrelle Willis did not stay in Triple-A very long. The Giants signed the lefty to a minor league deal back in January and officially added him to the Grizzlies’ roster last week, but Willis made two appearances before suffering an arm injury. The Giants wasted no time in releasing Willis.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports is reporting that Willis is now considering becoming a pitching coach, and has had “a couple feelers” according to his agent Matt Sosnick.

One can imagine Willis teaching a young left-hander his unorthodox wind-up for some easy laughs, but Willis could also be valuable given his experience, his battles with adversity, and his general positive demeanor. Willis last completed a full season in the big leagues in 2007, but he has fought tooth-and-nail to get back ever since, which is quite admirable.

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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.