“Grown man” Jeff Samardzija doesn’t want the Cubs front office involved in his pitch counts

29 Comments

Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija threw a career-high 126 pitches in Monday night’s loss to the White Sox and the next day reporters asked him and manager Rick Renteria about the wisdom of letting him have such a big workload early in the season.

There was also some indications that the Cubs’ front office wasn’t thrilled with Renteria for allowing the 126 pitches to happen, especially in cold weather, to which Samardzija said:

This is an on-field issue for uniform personnel. That’s all there is to it. I’m a grown man. I’m 29. I’m not a prospect or 22. I feel good. I think I’m grown up enough and responsible enough to understand when I can go and when I can’t go. … But just from what it’s sounding like, there was a response. For me, it’s just something that we need to handle here in the clubhouse.

Which is fine, except you’re never going to see a pitcher say any differently and, obviously, being “a grown man” doesn’t preclude anyone from wearing down physically over the course of a season or, say, needing Tommy John surgery. Toss in the ongoing speculation about the Cubs possibly trading Samardzija rather than signing him to a long-term extension and there’s plenty of tension surrounding him and the front office right now.

Announcement: Hardball Talk‘s partner FanDuel is hosting a one-day $45,000 Fantasy Baseball league for Thursday night’s MLB games. It’s $25 to join and first prize is $7,000. Starts at 7:07pm ET on ThursdayHere’s the FanDuel link.

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

cardinals mikolas
Rhona Wise/USA TODAY Sports
0 Comments

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.