Pirates sign Rafael Perez to a minor league deal

1 Comment

Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune reports that the Pirates have signed lefty reliever Rafael Perez to a minor league deal. He’ll report to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Perez, 32, hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2012. Last season, he pitched at Double-A for the Red Sox (30 2/3 innings) and at Triple-A for the Twins (four innings), posting a combined 2.60 ERA. This season, he has pitched at Triple-A with the Rangers (3 2/3 innings) and in the Mexican League with Rojos del Águila de Veracruz.

Over seven seasons in the major leagues, Perez has posted a 3.52 ERA in 329 innings.

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.