Adam Wainwright is staying in St. Louis. The Cardinals announced an agreement to bring the right-hander back for the 2022 season. Wainwright’s deal comes with a $17.5MM salary. The deal also includes a full no-trade clause, although Wainwright has long had guaranteed no-trade rights as a player with more than ten years of big league service, the last five of which have come with his current team. Wainwright is represented by Aegis Sports Management.
Wainwright, who turned 40 at the end of August, has turned back the clock to deliver one of the best seasons of his career in 2021. He’s second among all Major League pitchers with 206 1/3 innings pitched and has turned in a 3.05 ERA that stands as the fifth-best mark he’s ever notched over a full season.
Though he’s averaging just 89.3 mph on his heater this season, Wainwright has avoided hard contact, displayed strong command (six percent walk rate) and kept the ball on the ground at an above-average clip. That pairs nicely with the all-world infield defense in St. Louis and has helped Wainwright thrive even in spite of a below-average 21 percent strikeout rate. He’s also kept the ball in the yard at his lowest rate since 2014 (0.92 HR/9, 11.7 percent homer-to-flyball rate).
That excellent season will likely get Wainwright some votes in Cy Young balloting, even if he’s not favored to win it. (Corbin Burnes, Max Scherzer, Zack Wheeler and Walker Buehler are among the other top contenders.) It also positioned Wainwright to handily top this season’s $8MM salary, which has turned into a bargain for a scorching-hot Cardinals team that won 17 straight games to clinch a Wild Card berth — a sudden-death showdown for which they’ve already announced Wainwright as the starting pitcher.
Retaining Wainwright gives the Cardinals some additional certainty in the rotation next year. He’ll slot in alongside fellow righties Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas and Dakota Hudson, the latter of whom just returned from Tommy John surgery. Top pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore could be ready for his debut early in 2022, and the Cards have a handful of other in-house options, including Jake Woodford, Johan Oviedo and, if they want to move him from the bullpen to a starting role, Alex Reyes.
The Cards could of course dip their toes into the offseason market for starting pitching. They’re currently set to lose Kwang Hyun Kim, J.A. Happ and Jon Lester to free agency, and a lack of depth nearly sank their season earlier this summer when the majority of their rotation hit the injured list. St. Louis had under $90MM in guaranteed contracts on the books in 2022 before re-signing Wainwright — Matt Carpenter and Carlos Martinez will be off the books once their 2022 options are declined — so there’s certainly room to add to the payroll.
From a broader perspective, Wainwright’s return also sets the stage for an emotional season at Busch Stadium. He’s not yet made a declaration that the 2022 campaign will be his final season in the Majors, but given his age, that’s of course a possibility. Even if Wainwright sets his sights on pitching beyond next season, the 2022 campaign will be a farewell tour for Yadier Molina, who has announced his intention to retire following what will be his 19th season in St. Louis.
Wainwright and Molina are an iconic duo in St. Louis — a battery pairing emblematic of the repeated contenders put forth during this generation of Cardinals baseball. They’ve won a pair of World Series rings together, in 2006 and 2011, and there are few more memorable moments in recent Cardinals history than Wainwright buckling Carlos Beltran to close out the ’06 NLCS and then fanning Brandon Inge to clinch the organization’s first World Series in (at the time) more than two decades. Molina, naturally, was on the receiving end of both pitches.
Regardless of Wainwright’s future status, it’ll be the last season that Cardinals fans can root on a pair that seems destined to have their numbers retired and head into the team’s Hall of Fame. At 184 career wins, Wainwright will have a chance to cross the 200 mark next year as well — a milestone reached only by 119 players in big league history.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported that Wainwright and the Cardinals had agreed to an extension. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported the contract was worth more than $15MM. The Associated Press reported the $17.5MM figure and the presence of the no-trade clause.
Duh, maybe 1 year 12 million?
Awesome. Great news. Thank you Mozeliak for giving an extension to Wainwright.
I think Wainwright threw 190 innings after coming back from TJ surgery
Dwooooooo Bweeeeeez!!! Oh wait, wait. Sorry wrong group of people and wrong language. I meant to say Yadiiiiii and Wainohhhhh!!!! Yadiiii and Wainohhhhh! There we go. I hope I just somehow communicated with these indigenous St. Louisans. They are a very peculiar and primitive species. I just spoke the only 3 words they understand how to speak. Their thought patterns are so limited that they actually don’t realize their season is ending tomorrow.
If it ends tomorrow, I’ll take 90 – 72 over 77 – 85 any year. Chump.
is a Mets fan really talking trash lolololololololololololol
They pushed it back. Y’all don’t play until Wednesday. I was just talking mostly to the people on the poll who think the Cardinals should be ranked higher than half the teams. ESPN has the Cardinals with the lowest world series odds at 1.7%. And I’m not a Mets fan. Try reading the whole screen name before you assume someone roots for a team… Chump.
a braves fan…hey way to win the NL East the weakest division in baseball…not to mention the Cardinals have a better record than the Braves…The Cardinals are better than the Braves and Brewers…But good luck beating the Brewers as one of these bad teams has to win
The NL East is not the easiest division in baseball. The top end teams have lower records because we beat up on each other all season. We don’t have pushover teams like the Pirates and Cubs in our division. If it’s the easiest division why did the Cardinals have a worse record against NL East Teams than NL central teams? Why did the Braves have a better record against the Central than the East? We don’t have record padding teams like the Pirates and Cubs in our division. The worst divisions have the worst last place teams. The NL East has the best last place team in baseball. Not to mention…. If the Cardinals are so much better than the Braves… Why did the Cardinals go 1-6 against the Braves this season? The better teams are supposed to beat the worst teams and the Braves made the Cardinals look like a minor league team on the field this season.
Oh, wait. I meant to say Yadiiiiii and Wainohhhhh! Yadiiiiii and Wainohhhhh! I forgot those are the only 3 words in the English language Cardinals fans can comprehend.
Simple answer for a simpleton like yourself…the cardinals played the Braves when they were injured and playing their worst…just bad timing..the Cubs had a good team until they traded away every one…the cardinals actually had a winning record against the best team in baseball this season..the giants…you see teams go through ups and downs all year…but only can be compared in the end…the cardinals deserve the Braves spot more than the Braves because they have a better record…if we look at each team now the Cardinals are clearly better than the Braves…just hope your bad team can get past another bad team in the Brewers
Let me clear this up. The cards had 2 good weeks. They suck
I would say between $10 and 12, matching or close to Yadi’s one year deal.
I’m thinking $15M with maybe some incentives pushing it to $17M or $18M.
That’s what I think too. With the QO at 18M, my guess is that he wants something close to that.
This is simply Brain-right. I get tired of the too old to pitch remarks
YyyyyyyyyÿtExactly my thoughts. Throws nothing but junk now but has excellent location. Problem is he will probably barely break 88mph next year. I wish MLB pitchers were more willing to go out after a superb season. This season would have been the perfect ending to a great career. It’s not just returning that worries me. It’s him returning and money that would be better spent on the bullpen stud they are lacking.
Goold says the Cardinals used the Charlie Morton contract (1/$20m) as “a framework,” Also, Wainwright won’t win the Cy Young, but he should. He was the only reliable full-season starter on a playoff -bound staff and was thus far more valuable than Scherzer, Buehler, Burnes,, Wheeler, et al.
No, no he was not, but you tell yourself whatever you need to. He has the same games started and 4ip more than Buehler, how is 1 a reliable full season starter and the other is not?
Plus, it’s not called Most Valuable Pitcher. It’s the Cy Young. Ol’ Cy was known for having the most wins. Now that win totals are a silly way to guage the effectiveness of a pitcher, I am honestly not sure what the criteria is or should be. Best starter, naturally, though by what metric?
Hotness
Cardinals were 22-10 in games started by Wainwright; Dodgers were 21-11 in Buehler’s starts. Buehler was in a rotation with Scherzer, Urias, Kershaw, Gonsolin, half a year of Bauer. Wainwright had half a year of Flaherty. IMO CYA should go to the starting pitcher who contributed most to his team’s success. That’s clearly Wainwright.
Fair point but I think then you need an adjustment for league average run support per start. Why should Buehler be penalized for lower run support (not saying he does just an example) than Wainwright?
Hubert, I agree with you. I have made the same argument, except it was against deGrom. People kept saying it is an individual award, not team, so deGrom deserved it. To this day, I disagree with deGrom winning the award. It was the big push into the era of ANALysis that deGrom won. I think Wainwright deserves it. STL won a lot more with Wainwright starting and would not be in the playoffs without him. The Cy Young is about winning, not showing off good numbers without winning.
Everyone, go ahead and slam me on this, I am very much used to it.
@jerry i agree with to a point, now this is just my personal opinion and mine alone. i’ve always looked at the cy as and individual award leaning towards the side if you have a few guys close then we go into who is the most important pitcher to the team. which is a 180 on the mvp because i a firm believer that an mvp is the guy mos “valuable to there team”. i.e back in 06 when howard won the mvp over berkman or puljos, in 06 if you took howard off that phils team they still finish where they finished. take berkman or puljos of the astros or the cards neither that year and both teams finish in the btm. imo this year wanio deserves more mvp votes than cy, only because imo without wanio this year the cards are a sub 500 team.
tstats – An adjustment to provide support? That doesn’t quite cut it for me.
This is when I would apply the term “numbers lie, liars use numbers”. Please do not be offended, I am not calling you a liar. My reference is to statistical manipulation and adjustments. If it necessary to make an adjustment to support an argument, the argument becomes tainted. You can apply various adjustments to make any player more appealing for any purpose. That’s why players have agents. Just my opinion.
It’s named after Cy, but it’s essentially Pitcher of the Year (which I agree is NOT Most Valuable Pitcher). Playoff teams have no advantage, and relief pitchers are perfectly eligible for the award and have even won it at least a few times in the past
JerryBird: Your statement is true, numbers are used in various different algorithms and formulas to support one’s argument on either side (see politicians for example). For example, if you look at different methods of defensive evaluations for players, you find several that completely oppose one another. One will have a player as having highly ranked defense while another will have him just below average.
That said, I’m happy for the Cards and Wainwright. He’s done fantastic this year, especially considering his age, and it’s great (I think) for the fan base to see Waino retire in a Cards uniform.
Haha, ok so you think CYA should go to…(insert anything that makes it Wainwright) pitcher? Yeah, you’re not totally biased or anything.
You still didn’t explain how one is a reliable full season starter and the other is not. You just keep picking arbitrary qualifications that favor Wainwright. I’m not a Dodgers fan and I really don’t care who wins the CY, but this is just such a weak argument to try make Wainwright out to be better than he is. Dude’s pitching well at an advanced age, can’t just be happy for that?
Logan Webb has been more valuable and underappreciated.
Dealing Wainwright for 1 year of JD Drew is probably one of the worst Braves trades next to the Teixeira deal that I can think of. Every time I hear Wainwright’s name it’s a reminder.
Waino was a solid, but not a CANT MISS prospect. Drew & Marrero put up great seasons for the Braves in 2004.
iirc in that trade wanio was the “throw in” guy and i was listening to the espn radio here in stl there was only one guy in that “boardroom” said wanio was not the guy to throw in for that trade. long and short at the time (iirc it was 03 maybe 04) wanio had a few health concerns and really wasn’t on many people’s radar.
I love it when a throw in turns out to be the best player of a trade. Drew stayed in Atlanta only one season (though it was a really good season), but because of that, the Braves kind of lost out twice in that trade.
Don’t forget that the Cardinals also got Ray King and Jason Marquis in that trade, who were good pieces for their ’04-’05 juggernaut teams, the former of which won an NL Pennant for them.
I remember Marquis. He was basically a disappointment as a Braves fan. I was more upset to see Ray King included in the Wainwright trade. Marquis was more meh for the Cards while King was solid. Great trade for the Cards.
Plus Jason Marquis and Ray King.
Happy October Cardinals Nation!
I’m guessing one year, $17.5M, but I am a traveler from the future.
Travel from the future hmm? Which series end in a best of 7 this year?
My guess is only one, it’s a wild card but I’ll play it the World Seires when it’s played between the Yankees and Cardinals
Cardinals in 7
Hell yeah! My favorite pitcher since 2005—still remember his first inning in the MLB and John Mabry saving his ass by sniping some absolute ropes at 3B.
Pretty clear this will be the final season for him and Yadi; Cardinals haven’t had this much clarity in terms of roster turnover in a nearly a decade, IMO.
The Cardinals and right-hander Adam Wainwright are in agreement on a deal that will bring the right-hander back to St. Louis for the 2022 season, and he is also right-handed. Did I mention he is a right-hander?
It’s probably why he’ll get cy young votes. Hope many pitchers have that many right hands.
I think he’s right handed too!
Waino proving age is just a number.
Nice to see this was wrapped up much earlier and less messy than last offseason. It was weird to think at one point early in 2021 that both Waino and Yadi may not retire as Cards.
Hell ya!
Anyone know what’s going on with Yadi? He’s sat out the past few games, which is pretty unusual, but I haven’t seen anything about an injury.
Resting him for the playoffs. There is nothing to be gained by winning ballgames right now.
Sit them out while they are hot. No better way to cool off a team than to have them riding the bench. I think Schildt is playing this wrong, but then I am not a Major League manager either. I think they need a little playing time to stay sharp. I mean, these guys are professional athletes, do they really need several days off for rest? Pitchers, yes, position players, not really.
Yadi was scratched with shoulder soreness before Win 17. I’m sure they’re just giving him all the rest he can get before the WC game. I’m not worried about him getting rusty with some time off. Maybe he’ll get in a game this weekend for a few ABs. They should have him play 1st for a game.
I heard shoulder tightness
Something is sore, they mentioned it on the broadcast. A sore shoulder maybe? He’s trying to heal up for next week
Pirate fan here (condolences appreciated). Nothing but the utmost respect for Wainwright. The man just knows how to pitch and he’s a pleasure to watch. If you want to see a definition of the word “dominance”, it’s Wainwright against the Pirates: I feel like he’s got 100 career wins just against Pittsburgh. All I can do is tip my cap and compliment him on an outstanding career that will now continue.
My condolences.
Yes! Yes! Yes! A great sign. 2022 will be a celebration of 2 of the greatest Cardinals players. Looking forward to Yadi/Waino farewell tour. Maybe it could be a Yadi/Waino/Pujols farwell tour if the National League adopts the universal DH and the Cardinals sign Pujols for 2022.
F—- the DH. Keep it out of the NL.
I realize Wainwright doesn’t strikeout a lot of hitters compared to most pitchers, but he doesn’t just throw, he pitches, meaning he knows how to get hitters out without trying to throw every pitch as hard as he can. That’s the difference between a thrower and a pitcher. He also has a very good defense behind him, which is very helpful for the type of pitcher he is. Personally, I’m very happy he will be back and hope that he has another good season.
Guys magically pick up spin rate into their 40s all the time perfectly legitimately.
One last ride for Waino and Yadi. If the NL adopts the DH next year it would be nice to Pujols join them for the farewell tour
Very good news indeed. I was hoping this would take place.
Is the qualifier of “at the time” necessary? Despite time passing since that has happened the length of time between that World Series victory and the one previous has neither gotten longer nor shorter. They’re fixed moments in time.
Jesus.
I’m someone who has been known to correct or be annoyed by grammar, but even I find this one overkill.
CardinaLOLs fans will be calling for his head by next May…
I would of waited to see if he wins the WC game first. Beat the Dodgers that’s worth a few more Million dollars
That’s a clown comment, bro.
My guess is 5m next year. Deferred 13m over next 10 years
Steve, are you 100% certain that Yadi will truly retire after next season? I’m a Cubs fan but even I have mad respect for that duo. It would be somewhat appropriate for them to both retire after next year.
Molina plainly said at the press conference announcing his deal that next year is his last:
mlbtraderumors.com/2021/08/cardinals-yadier-molina…
I suppose he could always change his mind, ha, but it’s tough to get a more definitive source than that.
Wow, what a shocker! He and Yadi are Cardinals for life until they no longer want to play baseball.
Whether you are a Cards fan or you hate them, doesn’t matter. Yadi and Waino going out together in the same MLB uniform from start to finish is a great baseball story! Go get em boys!
The Goat
Glad to see they are paying him $15M+. With all he has given to St. Louis, he deserved at least this much if not more. I would guess there are some incentives/escalators in the contract that can increase its value past the $15M base. Waino was one of the best bargains in MLB @ $8M/yr this year. Hunter Renfroe (Boston) @ $3M might be the best 2020 deal in MLB for a non, pre-arbitration player.
@dorothy his 8mil for this year was mostly based on if he was going to be a bp guy or a stater. don’t get me wrong i love wanio but his 2019 wasn’t great and he was at the point of unreliable has a bounce back in a short 20 and this year has stepped up and imo the mvp of the team for his play and clubhouse attitude.
Pujols with the Angels paying everything above league minimum has been a bargain for the Dodgers. It’s been a thrill watching him contribute both on in the field and in the dugout. Providing there’s a DH, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Dodgers brought him back for another year. Still a potent bat against left-handers.
You don’t think STL wouldn’t bring AP back for the 3 Amigos last ride.
How cute. Gives Cardinal fans something to be happy about other than they’re one wild card game. Wainwright won’t be nearly as good next year…..
Admit it. You said the same thing last year.
Btw, making the post-season is a heck of an accomplishment. Only one team can win the World Series. Falling short of a championship in October does not diminish a full season’s worth of thrills, regardless of what the trolls say.
AMEN
@jgwi2az first of all who wouldn’t be happy to see 2 of the better players in all of bb played for one team for 15+ years retire together regardless of the team. second of all we’re only semi-happy that we’re in the wc i can tell you here in stl we wanted the division but injuries happened and the brew have a good team and i tip my cap to them they beat us out fair and square. we’re only happy here in stl about the wc is because we were able to salvage our season after that horrible june that damn near killed us.
*their
The Cardinals didn’t have a lack of starting depth this year. They just had unexpectedly bad depth. Nobody could’ve expected Martinez, Gant, Ponce de Leon, and Oviedo to all be as bad as they were this year. If they had actually pitched to expectations, people would’ve been praising their excellent starting depth for holding the rotation together after all the injuries, and they would’ve had no need to trade for Lester or Happ.
Enjoyed reading the article and still going through this vast collection of old cards myself. Radio App
Wainwright will receive some Cy Young votes. Votes that are deserved. One of the few players that has been rejuvenated by the 2 month 2020 season. He is a true pitcher- not a thrower. His stats this season are remarkable considering his age and heavy usage. Whatever he gets paid for 2022 will not be enough.
The NL wildcard game will be a must see. While I’m not a fan of either the Cards or Dodgers it will be baseball at it’s best. Complete with 90’s throwback ‘roid man O’Neil playing for the Cards.
Great comment until that last sentence.
I would suggest re-signing Lester. Need depth because someone will get hurt. Most of those won’t make 32 starts. Plus then you can pace Liberatore.
The last 5 years?
With his current team?
Not a Cards fan but glad to see team and player loyalty is still a thing.
Hopefully, Waino has one more gem in him for their upcoming wild card game. If he can hold the Dodgers to 2 runs over 6+ innings, I like the Cardinals chances to upset the Dodgers even with Mad Max on the mound.
Dorothy the Dodgers are the hottest MLB team over the last 10 games, and over the past six or seven games the hitters are lighting it up. I like the Dodgers if Max holds the Cards to two or fewer. Even with Muncy out.
molina is pissed. said he’s holding out until his contract is renegotiated
Gee, you’re hilarious.
witty
If a long-time player tosses over 200 innings with an era essentially at 3, would you offer a qualifying offer? Yes, you would.
The qualifying offer has to be more than that. This just looks cheap for the Cardinals. Even if he refused, ownership should insist (for obvious reasons). It’s not about saving a few million to sign free agents, its a team being cheap and a player taking a hometown discount (which are BS).
Braves paid smyly 11, we’d take waino back for 20.
If both parties sign on the dotted line, both parties think it’s fair, no?
Both parties have more affected parties beyond themselves. It just seems like a “cheap” move from ownership. Could players/agents notice and take it to heart? Yes, but probably not. It will most likely have no long term effects but I don’t think he should have “settled” for that. He earned well beyond the QO and he shouldn’t take that.
Agreed. That poor old guy has to squeak by somehow on $17.5MM next year.
Like that poor old guy that needed to underpay a longtime player in order to save his baseball franchise.
WarkMohlers, Did it ever occur to you that maybe that’s how much Wainwright asked for! You call Dewitts cheap yet they have been for the most part always towards the top in payroll every year! Look at what San Diego, Mets and Phillies payroll got them this year! If it bothers you so much and if it’s so damn easy to do then why don’t you go buy a Major League team and run it the way you see fit!
football player signs five year contract
then, in third year, says he’s holding out until he gets new contract
owners usually give in
This is such a weird take. He signed the contract, so he’s clearly happy with it. There’s a variety or reasons why he would, such as:
A) He doesn’t really care all that much about the dollar amount and wants to continue with a franchise he loves
B) He clearly has a strong working relationship with upper management and doesn’t want to change that somewhere else
C) He doesn’t want to financially hamstring the team and prevent free agent singings due to the amount of money tied up with him
D) He wants to retire a Cardinal
There’s always been a lot more to Wainos relationship with the Cardinals than money.
example of football player
not wainwright