Cardinals starting pitcher Jason Marquis agreed to a one-year deal which will pay him $5.15 million in 2006. The move will allow the Cardinals to avoid going to arbitration for the seventh-straight off-season. Marquis went 13-14 with a 4.13 ERA in 2005.
On June 10, Marquis earned a victory over the Yankees to improve to 8-3 on the season. He then went into a funk that lasted until August 27, when he beat the Nationals. Marquis was 1-10 over that span and saw his ERA go from 3.27 to 4.67. He finished the season by winning four of his last five starts.
While his numbers could have been better on the mound, his performance at the plate was quite impressive in 2005. He won the NL Silver Slugger award for pitchers, by hitting .310 with 10 RBI’s and a home run. He’ll get a $50,000 bonus if he wins the award again. Marquis can earn as much as $275,000 in incentive-based bonuses in 2006. Marquis made $3 million in 2005.
The only pitchers on the Cardinals roster who have a higher salary than Marquis now are Mark Mulder and Jason Isringhausen. Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter will make $5 million, but can earn another $1.5 million with incentives. This is the most the Cardinals have ever paid in a one-year deal to an arbitration-eligible player.
The Royals avoided arbitration with two pitchers who are expected, by many, to be a key part of the team’s future. Runelvys Hernandez and Jeremy Affeldt both agreed to one-year deals with Kansas City on Tuesday.
Hernandez, who made $ 325,000 last season, will get $1.225 million in 2006. Hernandez spent half of 2003 and all of 2004 recovering from ligament-replacement surgery (also known as Tommy John surgery) in his throwing elbow. In 2005 he returned to the field and went 8-14 with a 5.52 ERA. He struck out 88 batters and walked 70.
This season Affeldt will make $1 million, which constitutes a raise of $50,000. In 49 appearances from the bullpen, Affeldt pitched 49.2 innings and had a record of 0-2 with a 5.26 ERA in 2005.
