The one-year signing of 36-year old veteran Mark Ellis will provide some insurance and a right handed bat for Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. Ellis has played for Oakland, Colorado, and recently, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ellis played with Matt Holliday in Oakland in 2009 and when Ellis first came up through the A’s system, he was close to teammate, (now Cardinals hitting coach) John Mabry.
Ellis became a free agent after the Dodgers passed on a $5.75 million option. In 2013, Ellis hit .270 with a .323 on-base percentage in 126 games. He started 106 of those games at second base, where Ellis is considered an above-average defender.
Ellis knows his role will be to mentor Wong, projected as the future second baseman for years to come in the Cardinals organization, telling STLCardinals.com, “I know that Kolten Wong is a favorite of a lot of people in the organization for good reason, because he’s a good baseball player,” Ellis said. “I’m coming there to be on the 25-man roster. Wherever I play or whatever my role is, that’s what I’m going there to do. It may not be defined yet exactly what it is, but it’s just being a baseball player. That’s what I’m going there to be.”