The Cardinals will non-tender reliever John Axford, tweets Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis will, however, tender contracts to Jon Jay, Peter Bourjos, and Daniel Descalso.
Axford was strong down the stretch after coming over from the Brewers following the revocable waiver trade deadline. Milwaukee added reliever Michael Blazek in the deal. The earlier portion of his 2013 season was less stellar, however, as he threw to a cumulative 4.02 ERA in 65 innings. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected Axford to earn $5.7MM in arbitration, making him an expensive piece for a Cards' pen that features numerous solid young arms.
