ST. LOUIS — Adam Wainwright‘s tenure as a St. Louis Cardinal will extend into a 15th season after he and the club reached an agreement on a one-year contract for 2019.
The two sides ended any speculation about the right-hander’s future on Thursday when they announced the extension, which will follow a five-year, $97.5 million contract that expired with this season. Financial terms of Wainwright’s next deal were not disclosed by the club.
ST. LOUIS — Adam Wainwright‘s tenure as a St. Louis Cardinal will extend into a 15th season after he and the club reached an agreement on a one-year contract for 2019.
The two sides ended any speculation about the right-hander’s future on Thursday when they announced the extension, which will follow a five-year, $97.5 million contract that expired with this season. Financial terms of Wainwright’s next deal were not disclosed by the club.
“Adam has proven, when healthy, that he still has the ability and the drive to contribute at the highest level,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. “We saw it in Spring Training, and again late in the season, that once he had overcome his ailments, he was prepared to give us a winning effort every time he took the mound. There is risk, but it is shared, and this deal gives us added depth as we look to 2019.”
That risk is largely tied to health, as Wainwright has been sidelined by various injuries repeatedly since 2015. He’s been placed on the disabled list six times over the past four seasons, most recently for a four-month stretch in 2018 during which Wainwright recovered from another right elbow injury. These injuries have limited Wainwright to 68 starts — 33 of them in 2016 — over the past four seasons.
Still, when the 37-year-old returned to the rotation in September, he did so rejuvenated and convinced that he hadn’t hit the end of his career. Wainwright allowed 12 earned runs on 22 hits in 22 1/3 innings in four starts, walking four while striking out 25.
Wainwright’s return further fills a rotation teeming with options for 2019. The Cardinals have several other starters — including Carlos Martinez, Miles Mikolas, Michael Wacha, Jack Flaherty, Alex Reyes, Luke Weaver, Austin Gomber, John Gant and Daniel Poncedeleon — also under contract.
With his 15th season in St. Louis, Wainwright will match Bob Forsch (1974-88) for the third-most number of seasons in a Cardinals uniform by a pitcher. Only Jesse Haines (18 years) and Bob Gibson (17) accrued more.
Jenifer Langosch has covered the Cardinals for MLB.com since 2012, and previously covered the Pirates from 2007-11. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
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