Twins demote Opening Day shortstop Pedro Florimon to Triple-A - MLB

Pedro Florimon started 127 games at shortstop for the Twins last season and was their Opening Day starter this year, but after hitting .108 in 25 games he’s been demoted back to Triple-A.

Rookie call-up Danny Santana is now in line for an extended look at shortstop, although based on his Double-A and Triple-A numbers he’s far from MLB-ready despite a nice start to his big-league career. Eduardo Escobar is another option and the Twins also called up former Yankees shortstop Eduardo Nunez to fill a bench role.

As for Florimon … this may have been his only real shot at a starting gig. He’s never hit at all, in the minors or majors, and his glove isn’t quite great enough to make up for the extreme lack of offense. He got a longer leash with the Twins than he probably would have gotten with any of the other 29 teams.

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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.