Even with the loss of Adam Wainwright, the St. Louis Cardinals still have the best ERA in the MLB. Jaime Garcia has been a crucial aspect to that success, going 8-5 with a 2.33 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 75 strikeouts in 16 starts (104 1/3 innings). Will St. Louis pick up his team option for the 2015 season?
On the surface, it looks like it'd be a good move. Garcia's option is for $11.5 million and if it's picked up, the Cardinals will have an opportunity to exercise his $12 million team option for 2017. Additionally, Garcia is the only left-hander in the starting rotation and the Cardinals could lose John Lackey, who is set to hit free agency.
As of right now, rumors suggest the team will keep Garcia on board for 2016.
"The Cardinals haven't said it yet but they will surely pick up the $11.5-million option on Jaime Garcia's contract rather than buy him out for $500,000," Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported last week.
"The $11.5 million option is a no-brainer unless Garcia suffers a serious injury between now and the end of the season," ESPN Insider Buster Olney added. "Keep in mind that if the Cardinals exercise the 2016 option, they'll have another option for 2017 for $12 million -- flexibility that can be valuable."
"No way a sane person could have believed in February that Garcia would be part of a four-man postseason rotation," Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote. "Nor could anyone have expected the club to weigh exercising two option years worth $23.5 million. However, Garcia projects now as part of the Cardinals' October turn; his option more and more resembles value rather than a punch line."
However, is it prudent to invest $11.5 million in an oft-injured pitcher who has made only 32 starts since the beginning of 2013? Garcia, 29, missed all of 2009 due to Tommy John surgery before making 60 combined starts in 2010 and 2011. The troubles surfaced again in 2012, when he made only 20 starts due to shoulder discomfort, which would later be the reason he underwent season-ending surgery in 2013.
He also missed a month this year due to a groin injury, so it's unknown how his health will hold up as he enters his 30s next season.
Garcia's contributions in 2015 have been invaluable to a club that has experienced countless injuries since April. This potential investment is not a concern because of Garcia's performance - it's one regarding his health.
The Cardinals could reject the option and use that $11.5 million elsewhere. The starting pitching market this offseason is full of established arms, such as David Price, Zack Greinke, Scott Kazmir, Jordan Zimmermann, Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Mike Leake and others. St. Louis also has a farm system stacked with starting pitching talent, including right-hander Alex Reyes, 21, who owns a 3.12 ERA in eight starts at Double-A Springfield since earning the promotion earlier this season.
So while the decision to pick up Garcia's option appears to be beneficial, the Cardinals may have other ideas in mind depending on how the rest of the season plays out for the veteran left-hander.
