St. Louis Cardinals Make Investment in Future with Carlos Martinez Extension
The Cardinals have reached a long-term agreement with Carlos Martinez.
As Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports and MLB Network first reported on Wednesday night, the St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a five-year, $51 million-dollar contract extension with righthanded starting pitcher Carlos Martinez. MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch also reported that Martinez’s deal will have a pair of options–it’s not yet known whether those are player, club, or mutual options–that could keep him a Cardinal through 2023.
It’s a very strong investment in the future for the Cardinals, who had been scheduled to go to arbitration with Martinez later this month. The 25-year-old has been the Cardinals’ best starter for the past two years now, and he’s increasingly making a case as one of the best starters in the National League. The undersized fireballer has refined his command and efficiency in recent years and posted a 3.04 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP and a .233 opponent batting average over 31 starts in 2016.
In a league where many of the league’s elite starters are making more than $25 million a year and veteran pitchers like Brandon McCarthy, Ricky Nolasco, Matt Garza, and Anbial Sanchez are earning annual salaries above $10 million, getting Martinez for an average salary of $10.2 million per year is an incredible bargain for the Cardinals if he continues to pitch at a level close to the one he’s pitched at for the past two seasons.
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Since Alex Reyes won’t hit arbitration for another couple years, the Cardinals suddenly could begin receiving an unprecedented amount of value from their starting rotation. Reyes and Martinez could combine to anchor the staff as soon as this year, and even if they have Mike Leake‘s hefty deal (and perhaps, eventually, Adam Wainwright with an extension) at the back of the rotation, the Cardinals have a great opportunity to thrive with a mostly homegrown rotation for years to come.