The St. Louis Cardinals announced yesterday that they have signed All-Star pitcher Miles Mikolas to a four-year (2020-23) contract extension.
“We are extremely pleased to have Miles under contract for the foreseeable future,” stated Cardinals’ Chairman Bill DeWitt, Jr. “Miles made great contributions to our team as an All-Star last season, and he quickly fit in with his teammates and our fans. We look forward to having Miles serve as a key member of our pitching staff for the next five years.”
Mikolas, 30, was recently tabbed as the Cardinals 2019 Opening Day starter. The Jupiter, Fla. native went 18-4 in his initial season with the Redbirds in 2018, co-leading the National League in wins while also posting the league’s top winning pct. (.818). His perfect 10-0 mark in road games matched the best in Major League history for a pitcher with 10 or more road wins, joining Hall of Famer Greg Maddux (1995) and Jimmy Key (1994).
“Miles proved that his recent years in Japan were consistent with the projections we had for him upon his return to the Majors, and he took those to an even higher level with an All-Star season in 2018,” said Cardinals’ President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak. “This was an opportunity for Miles to train in his backyard here in Jupiter as well as pitch in front of family in St. Louis. We are excited for him to be a part of the Cardinals for four additional years.”
After spending the 2015-17 seasons pitching for Yomiuri in the Japanese Central League, Mikolas signed a free-agent contract with the Cardinals in December of 2017, returning to the majors for the first time since 2014 when he made 10 starts for Texas. Mikolas was a combined 31-13 in Japan with a 2.25 ERA in 62 starts for the Yomiuri Giants.
In addition to his top N.L. marks in wins and winning pct. in 2018, Mikolas was also ranked among the Senior Circuit’s top performers in ERA (2.83-4th), innings pitched (200.2-6th) and starts (32-9th), and he paced the league in fewest walks/9 IP ratio (1.30), issuing just 29 free passes.
Mikolas was voted by his teammates as the recipient of the 2018 Darryl Kile Award, presented annually by the St. Louis Chapter of the BBWAA to the Cardinals player who best demonstrates the qualities of the late Darryl Kile by being a good teammate, a great friend, a fine father and a humble man.
