Jose Ramirez Agrees To Contract Extension

Jose Ramirez, 24, last season playing for the Cleveland Indians enjoyed a breakout season. On Friday, the Indians and Ramirez agreed to a contract extension. Ramirez gets a four-year contract extension, that is worth $26 million. The contract also includes two $11 million options. The total contract, could end up being worth $50 million.

Ramirez helped lead the Indians to their first World Series appearance since 1997. He hit .312, with 84 runs, 176 hits, 46 doubles, 3 triples, 11 home runs, 76 rbi's, 22 stolen bases, and 44 walks. He played in 152 games. The 46 doubles and 22 stolen bases were the second most in the American League. Ramirez also hit .355 with runners in scoring position.

Ramirez has played three seasons in the MLB. His career stats are: 332 games played, 166 runs, 311 hits, 70 doubles, 9 triples, 19 home runs, 120 rbi's, 42 stolen bases, 91 walks, and a career batting average of .275.

The contract extension for Ramirez and the Indians is a good long-term investment. He is currently the Indians starting third baseman, but he is a versatile player. He is capable of play shortstop, second base, and left field.

Solid move by the Indians.

Patrik Berglund Signs Extension With Blues

Patrik Berglund, 28, was set to become a free agent at the end of the 2016-2017 season. That changed on Friday, when the St. Louis Blues agreed to a five-year contract extension with Berglund. Berglund's new contract is worth $19.25 million. The contract includes a partial no-trade clause. He has played in 60 games this season, and is currently second on the team with 17 goals, 7 assists, and is 10th in points with 24.

There had been rumors that Berglund could be traded on March 1, 2017 (NHL trade deadline day), instead Berglund will remain with the Blues. He was drafted by the Blues in the 1st round of the 2006 NHL draft, no.25 overall. He's played in 615 games, 145 goals, 141 assists, 286 points, 206 penalty minutes, and is a plus 17. The 615 games are tied for seventh for most games played in Blues franchise history.

Berglund's best season so far was back in 2010-2011, when he played 81 games, scoring 22 goals, 30 assists, 52 points, and was a -3. Last season, during the Blues playoff run he did well scoring 4 goals, and getting 5 assists. He seems to have improved dating back to last season. Berglund made it known he wanted to stay a Blue, and if he had hit free agency he could have made more money. It's a win-win for Berglund and the Blues.

Cardinals Sign Cuban OF Jose Adolis Garcia

The St. Louis Cardinals signed free agent Cuban outfielder Jose Adolis Garcia to a minor league contract, with an invite to spring training. The contract is for one-year, and is worth $2.5 million. He's the younger brother of Atlanta Braves third baseman Adonis García

Adolis Garcia, will now be in a battle to win a roster spot. The players he's battling are Todd Cunningham, Chad Huffman, Jose Martinez, Tommy Pham, and Jordan Schafer. Harrison Bader could be in the mix too, but it seems like the Cardinals might want him to get more playing time in Memphis first.

Garcia, 24, played in Japan last summer. That didn't go too well for him, he hit .234 in 117 at bats, and 37 strikeouts. He walked only six times. He was the MVP for the Cuban national league in 2015, he hit .319, with 14 home runs, 71 rbi's, 11 stolen bases, and 34 walks in 81 games. The season before, in 2014, he played 85 games and hit .322, with 12 home runs, 53 rbi's, 11 stolen bases, and 20 walks. Besides the outfield, Garcia can play second base.

Baseball America ranked Garcia as their 20th best player in April 2015, that was when he was still in Cuba. Can Garcia find success coming to the Cardinals? Time will tell, it seems like he has a chance if he's willing to improve and work on the things he needs to get better with. If he doesn't make the Cardinals out of spring training, he could wind up in Double-A Springfield or Triple-A Memphis and try to work his way up from there.

St. Louis Cardinals 2017 Season Preview

Offseason Additions: Brett Cecil, Dexter Fowler, John Gant, Chris Ellis, Jordan Schafer, Zach Phillips, Eric Fryer, Gabriel Lino, Luke Dykstra, Wilfredo Tovar, Austin Wilson, Todd Cunningham, Chad Huffman

Offseason Subtractions: Matt Holliday, Brandon Moss, Jeremy Hazelbaker, Brayan Pena, Jaime Garcia, Seth Maness, Tim Cooney, Dean Kiekhefer, Jordan Walden, Jerome Williams

Point team prediction: 87-90 wins, 2nd place (wild card). Last season the Cardinals didn't do so great, yes they came within one game from getting the wild card, but they went 86-76. A lot of that was because of bad defense, and bad base running. The Cardinals also let some of the teams do better than them when the played them, teams that shouldn't be better than them: Milwaukee Brewers 13-6, and Cincinnati Reds 10-9 are a few teams the Cardinals should have been better against. The Cardinals right now look somewhat better than last season, because of Fowler and Cecil. Cardinals could use another bat or bullpen help at some point. But, they have the makings to be a good team. Doing well at home would help.

Starting rotation: Adam Wainwright, Carlos Martinez, Mike Leake, Michael Wacha, Lance Lynn

Bullpen: Seung-Hwan Oh, Trevor Rosenthal, Jonathan Broxton,  Matt Bowman, Miguel Socolovich (if Tyler Lyons isn't ready to start the season), Kevin Siegrist, Brett Cecil

Lineup:

1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Aledmys Diaz, SS
3. Matt Carpenter, 1B
4. Stephen Piscotty, RF
5. Yadier Molina, C
6. Jhonny Peralta, 3B
7. Randal Grichuk, LF
8. Kolten Wong, 2B
9. pitcher

Bench:
Eric Fryer, Jedd Gyorko, Matt Adams, Greg Garcia, Tommy Pham

Prospect(s) to watch:
Breyvic Valera could be someone to watch in camp, if he does well he could force Greg Garcia out of a job. Harrison Bader, Luke Weaver, and Rowan Wick (could see the MLB in 2017).

Fantasy Stud: Carlos Martinez

He evolved into an ace for the Cardinals in 2016. Martinez won a career high 16 games. The 16 wins were good for 5th in the National League. He started 31 games, and had 20 quality starts (good for 6th). He pitched 195.1 innings (10th), his era was 3.04 (9th). While doing all of that, Martinez was able to hold opponents' to a .233 batting average (12th).

Cardinals Extend Carlos Martinez

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Carlos Martinez was arbitration-eligible for the first-time in his career. The Cardinals decided to buyout Martinez arbitration years, and signed him to a five-year contract, worth $51 million. The contract has two option years, so it could go through 2023. The first option is worth $17 million, and the second option is $18 million. So, the total value of the contract could be $85.5 million. The contract is the largest ever for a first-time arbitration-eligible pitcher, that record had previously belonged to Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber back in 2015.

Martinez, 25, was signed as a free-agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2010. He's since evolved into an ace for the Cardinals pitching staff. In 2016, Martinez won a career high 16 games. The 16 wins were good for 5th in the National League. He started 31 games, and had 20 quality starts (good for 6th). He pitched 195.1 innings (10th), his era was 3.04 (9th). While doing all of that, Martinez was able to hold opponents' to a .233 batting average (12th).

Behind him, Martinez, had 33 double plays turned. He was only one-shy of the franchise record. His ground-ball rate was 57.7 and ranked second in the NL.

Martinez' career stats: 34 wins, 21 loses, 3.04 era, 140 games, 68 starts, 2 saves, 466 strikeouts, 178 walks, 492.2 innings, and a whip of 1.29.

Getting Martinez signed long-term has helped give the Cardinals a solid offseason after signing free agents Brett Cecil, and Dexter Fowler. The Cardinals could use another outfielder before the season starts. Will that happen? Who knows. It would be nice if it did.

Dexter Fowler Flies To Cardinals

The Cardinals went into the offseason needing to address outfield, they did that Thursday night by signing free agent centerfielder Dexter Fowler. The Cardinals signed him for a five-year contract, worth $82.5 million. Fowler comes from the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs, after playing two seasons for them. While, Fowler may not have been everyone's first choice, what he does best is get on base. He's also a true lead off guy.

In 2016, besides helping the Cubs win the World Series, he was an All-Star for the first time in his MLB career. He had his best on base percentage since 2012 with the Colorado Rockies. In 2012, Fowler's on base percentage was 389, in 2016 393. He's been the guy who is able to spark the Cubs the last couple of seasons. Last year, without Fowler the Cubs were 23-20. He hit .276, with 13 home runs, 48 rbi's, and 13 stolen bases.

Fowler 30, has been in the MLB for nine seasons. Over those nine seasons, his career stats are: 1,064 games played, 623 runs, 1,001 hits, 195 doubles, 72 triples, 78 home runs, 339 rbi's, 127 stolen bases, 554 walks, and a career batting average of .268.

In Fowler the Cardinals are pretty much wanting a guy who can get on base, and provide some athleticism. Which, he seems to have been able to do for other teams in his career. Randal Grichuk will move to left-field. The outfield appears to be better. Grichuk, Fowler, and Stephen Piscotty all have enough speed to cover ground. The Cardinals lineup becomes a lot more stable too.

His personality should also help the Cardinals out. Will the Cardinals make another move? They have the room, and money to make another move if they want to. The Cardinals are showing by landing both Brett Cecil back in November, and now Dexter Fowler that they are willing to spend money.

Jaime Garcia Dealt To Braves

When the St. Louis Cardinals picked up starting pitcher Jaime Garcia's $12 million option for 2017, there were rumors that he was going to be traded. On Thursday evening, those became realistic when the Cardinals traded Jaime Garcia to the Atlanta Braves for prospects RHP Chris Ellis, RHP John Gant, and 2B Luke Dykstra.

Garcia spent eight seasons with the Cardinals. In lots of ways, Garcia could have maybe been better, but he was hurt a lot. Garcia can be really good, when he's healthy. His best season came in 2011, when he went 13-7, with an era of 3.56, and 194.2 innings. In 2016, Garcia went 10-13, with an era of 4.67, with 171.2 innings.

Over his career, Garcia's record is: 62-45, 3.57 era, 158 games, 147 starts, 4 complete games, 4 shutouts, 723 strikeouts, 261 walks, 896 innings, and a whip of 1.28.

What do the Cardinals get in Ellis, Gants, and Dykstra? It seems like depth for now. Chris Ellis was rated as the Braves 17th best prospect, and John Gant was 21st. Luke Dykstra is a player who hits for average, but doesn't have much power. Dykstra seems to be a future utility player. He's the son of former MLB player Lenny Dykstra.

John Gant was in the MLB last season, and went 1-4, with an era of 4.86, and 50 innings. Gant made 7 starts for the Braves.

Chris Ellis has yet to see the MLB, but he showed some flashes when he was in Mississippi for the Braves Double-A team. Ellis struggled when he reached Triple-A.