Inside The Cardinals

Ex-Cardinals All-Star Predicted To Get $54 Million Contract

The former Cardinals All-Star will cash in this winter

Patrick McAvoy

Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images
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One former member of the St. Louis Cardinals certainly had a great 2024 season.

Veteran starting pitcher Michael Wacha was selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft and made his big league debut in 2013. He spent the first seven seasons of his big league career in St. Louis and earned his lone All-Star nod in 2015.

Wacha was a key piece for the Cardinals for years but left the organization ahead of the 2020 campaign. He joined the New York Mets for the 2020 season and has bounced around since. He was with the Mets in 2020, the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021, Boston Red Sox in 2022, San Diego Padres in 2023, and Kansas City Royals in 2024.

The 2020 and 2021 seasons weren't great, but he has figured something out over the last three years. Wacha hasn't recorded an ERA above 3.35 since 2021 and will now get paid this winter. He will be a free agent and The Athletic's Jim Bowden predicted that he will get a three-year deal worth $54 million.

"Michael Wacha has been superb and consistent over the past three years, posting ERAs between 3.22 and 3.35 with double-digit wins each season, all while pitching on short-term contracts," Bowden said. "His downward plane and changeup (.169 batting average against) are special. He ranked in the 99th percentile in offspeed run value and in the 92nd percentile in hard-hit rate. Wacha has a $16 million player option for 2025 that I expect he’ll decline so he can enter free agency and land a multiyear contract...Contract prediction: 3 years, $54 million."

Wacha has shined and now will rightfully get paid this winter. Wherever he lands, hopefully, he continues to find success.

More MLB: Ex-Cardinals Star Predicted To Sign $60 Million Deal With Tigers

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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