Ocularly challenged Cardinal fans have a new hero to root for!
The Birds have signed former Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher (LHP) to a 4-year contract totaling 30.5M dollars.
What do we know about the newest member of the bullpen?
GOOD THINGS
He’s a LHP, so Kevin Siegrist can have a happy holiday season knowing his left arm (probably) won’t be worked into a nubbin’ by Coach Mike in 2017.
Cecil was considered by many to be the top LHP free-agent in this year’s class beyond Aroldis Chapman. In fact, MLB-ready LHP relief talent was in such high demand that Cecil was able to squeeze out a fourth year from the Cardinals:
The Brett Cecil market escalated quickly. Teams realized three years wasn't gonna get it done, and St. Louis coveted him enough to go four.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 19, 2016
The finishing kick for 2016 will be what Cardinals fans are hoping Cecil delivers next year. Over his last 30 appearances, he posted a 1.74 ERA, striking out 30 in 20.2 innings. He added 3.2 scoreless innings in the ’16 AL playoffs.
The Cecil’s (wife Jennifer + 2 boys) have a good dog named Cutter. Cutter has a snaggletooth:
His glasses have a Twitter account.
Cecil also has a Twitter account… but he and his wife quit social media in 2015, so I wouldn’t expect a response if you reach out.
In 8 playoff games (6 innings) he’s not given up a single run and only 1 hit. You gotta like it when a guy can raise his game in October.
QUESTIONABLE THINGS
Dude loves Three Days Grace. Maybe this is a good thing in your book – coming from a guy that kind of likes Bieber, don’t trust my taste.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoXXmlUfEjg
We mentioned the finishing kick above, but his 2016 wasn’t a stat sheet stuffer. He posted a 1-7 record and an ERA of 3.93 in 54 games, good for a 0.3 WAR.
He also went on the DL in May of this year with a triceps strain in his left arm.
Cecil has missed playing time in two separate incidents where he got his hand cut. Once in a blender. The other time “chopping chickens“. Insert your Mike Matheny joke here.
BOTTOM LINE
The Cardinals picked up a solid lefthanded bullpen piece that will be a plus for a team that squandered a fair share of winnable games with questionable relief.
Will they regret giving him a fourth year? Time will tell. For now the Cardinals are a better team than they were on Friday.
So progress.
Photo: SportsNet
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