Nationals demote Taylor Jordan to Triple-A - MLB

Taylor Jordan, who grabbed a spot in the Nationals’ season-opening rotation thanks in part to Doug Fister’s injury, has been demoted back to the minors after going 0-3 with a 5.61 ERA in five starts.

The move comes ahead of Fister’s expected return from the DL next week and in the meantime the Nationals decided they’d rather have an extra reliever in Ryan Mattheus.

Jordan posted incredible numbers in the minors last season, going 9-1 with a 1.00 ERA in 90 innings between Double-A and Triple-A as a 24-year-old, and then he tossed 52 innings with a 3.66 ERA in his Nationals debut. He’ll be back at some point and still projects as a solid part of the Nationals’ plans long term.

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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.