The Cardinals have reportedly signed left-handed reliever Brett Cecil to a four-year, $30.5 million deal, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports and FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. The signing is pending a physical, and while the team has yet to officially announce anything, Passan explained that Cecil’s new contract could set the bar even higher for relief pitchers this offseason.
Already have heard from multiple executives and agents who think Brett Cecil's four-year, $30.5M deal with St. Louis is a market changer.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 19, 2016
RP are notoriously volatile. Combine lack of FA inventory with lots of $ to spend and many RP options, and RP gonna cash in this offseason.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 19, 2016
Passan added that the tipping point for Cecil was likely the Cardinals’ willingness to commit to four years, as other interested parties had proposed three-year deals that did not come to fruition.
Cecil, 30, completed his eighth and final year with the Blue Jays in 2016, logging a career-low 36 2/3 innings as he worked his way back from a torn lat muscle. During the regular season, he posted a 3.93 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 45 strikeouts and returned in the postseason for six appearances as the Blue Jays battled through the Division and Championship Series. When healthy, his track record as a full-time reliever looked considerably more impressive: from 2013-2015, the left-hander put up a 2.67 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 11.5 K/9 rate over 168 1/3 innings in Toronto.
