Adam Wainwright admits grooving a pitch to Derek Jeter - MLB

Derek Jeter smacked a double to right field off National League starter Adam Wainwright in the bottom of the first inning of Tuesday night’s MLB All-Star Game at Target Field. Jeter then came around to score on a Mike Trout triple in what became a three-run opening frame for the American League.

Wainwright met with reporters after his one-inning outing and admitted that he purposely gave Jeter a hittable pitch in the shortstop’s final Midsummer Classic. Via Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports …

Waino: “I was gonna give him a couple pipe shots. He deserved it. I didn’t know he was gonna hit a double or I might have changed my mind.”

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 16, 2014

There are a couple of major issues here … 1. It defeats the purpose of grooving a pitch to honor a guy if you then acknowledge publicly that you grooved that pitch. 2. However dumb the rule may be — and it is indeed very dumb — winning the All-Star Game means earning homefield advantage for the World Series that same season, and Wainwright’s Cardinals are a year-by-year mainstay in the National League playoff picture.

FOLLOWUP: Adam Wainwright to Erin Andrews: “I didn’t want Derek Jeter to get a hit”

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Did Adam Wainwright take away from Derek Jeter?

ST. LOUIS – Reliever Giovanny Gallegos and the St. Louis Cardinals agreed Monday to an $11 million, two-year contract, a deal that includes a club option for 2025 and escalators that could make it worth $20.5 million over three seasons.

The 31-year-old right-hander is 3-5 with a 2.91 ERA and 14 saves in 20 chances this season. He has 72 strikeouts and 15 walks in 58 2/3 innings.

“I feel so happy,” Gallegos said Monday before the Cardinals played the Pirates in Pittsburgh. “I don’t have the word for exactly how I’m feeling.”

He was obtained from the Yankees in July 2018 along with left-hander Chasen Shreve in the trade that sent first baseman Luke Voit to New York. Gallegos is 14-15 with a 3.02 ERA and 34 saves in six major league seasons.

Gallegos gets a $500,000 signing bonus and salaries of $4.5 million next year and $5.5 million in 2024. St. Louis has a $6.5 million team option for 2025 with a $500,000 buyout.

His 2025 option price can increase by up to $3.5 million for games finished in 2024: $500,000 each for 20-25 and 26-30 and 31-35, and $1 million apiece for 36-40 and 41 or more.

He would get $250,000 for winning the Rivera/Hoffman reliever of the year award, $50,000 for All-Star selection and World Series MVP and $25,000 for League Championship Series MVP.

Gallegos has a $2.41 million salary this year.

He was eligible for salary arbitration and is potentially eligible for free agency after the 2024 season.