Righthander Mike James avoided arbitration just prior to his scheduled hearing and agreed to a one year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals worth $1,525,000 dollars. James appeared in 51 games in 2000 for St. Louis, going 2-2 with a 3.16 ERA. He also had two saves. Pitcher Matt Morris is the only Cardinal player remaining in arbitration. Earlier the Cardinals had settled with pitchers Alan Benes and Jason Christiansen.