Phillies hurler Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez to begin rehab assignment on Thursday

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The Phillies signed Cuban pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez to a three-year, $12 million contract last August. His time with the team hasn’t gone according to plan. Due to the right-hander’s struggles defecting from Cuba, he hadn’t played competitive baseball for a long time when he showed up to Clearwater, Florida for spring training. What the Phillies saw was a pitcher far different than the guy they had scouted over the prior year, and Gonzalez ended up needing time on the disabled list with a shoulder injury.

Delaware Online’s Chris Branch reports that Gonzalez is ready to head out on a rehab assignment after some very positive reports came back to the Phillies on his progress. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro said Gonzalez was topping out at 95 MPH on his fastball, much better than the high-80’s fastball Gonzalez was throwing in spring training.

Gonzalez will begin his rehab assignment on Thursday and get the ball rolling on his professional career. It will still be a while before the Phillies could reasonably utilize him, but they’re desperate to fix up the bullpen — their 4.68 bullpen ERA currently ranks as the fourth-worst in baseball.

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.