ST. LOUIS (AP) — e St. Louis Cardinals rather than wait to go on the open market after the season.The 30-year-old right-hander returned to the major leagues last year after three seasons in Japan http://www.raysfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , agreeing to a $15.5 million, two-year contract with the Cardinals. He became a first-time All-Star, going 18-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 32 starts.His deal allows him to become a free agent after the 2019 World Series, even though he will have only three years of major league service.“It’s something that the Cardinals and my agent have to work out,” Mikolas said. “If the numbers work out and everything turns out to be good, it’s absolutely something that could happen.”He lives in Jupiter, Florida, near the Cardinals’ spring training base.“It’s an ideal situation. You can’t hide that fact,” Mikolas said. “If the numbers work out and it turns out to be good, that’s absolutely something that could happen. I’m not going to be a guy who says don’t talk to me after this or that date. I’m pretty easy going. If you want to talk, we’ll talk.”A seventh-round pick by San Diego in the 2009 amateur draft, Mikolas made his debut for the Padres three years later. He made 37 relief appearances for San Diego over two years Matt Andriese Jersey , was traded to Pittsburgh and then Texas after the 2013 season and was 2-5 with a 6.44 ERA in 10 starts for Texas in 2014.He was released by the Rangers and signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s Central League and had a 2.18 ERA over three seasons with a 0.99 WHIP and 378 strikeouts in 424 2/3 innings.Mikolas emerged as the rotation anchor for St. Louis. He led the NL with 254 groundball outs.“I think I surprised myself,” Mikolas said. “There’s a little bit of self satisfaction. I surprised a lot of people. This is what I’ve been trying to do my whole life, is be this kind of pitcher.”Mikolas had a 1.07 WHIP, struck out 146 and walked 29 in 200 2/3 innings.“I don’t think we expected him to have the best walk rate in the league, but we knew he’d throw strikes and had good stuff,” Cardinals general manager Michael Girsch said. “We thought he’d be a good, solid starting pitcher. We couldn’t be happier with how he’s worked out.”Mike Shildt, who took over as the Cardinals’ manager last July 14, also was impressed.“He does things that are tried and true,” Shildt said. :He throws strikes, quality strikes. He throws inside, and he commands the inner half of the plate. Pitching is disruption of timing. He’s throws varying speeds C. J. Cron Jersey , and he throws strikes with command. That’s a recipe for success.” It's no secret at this point that Seattle Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez is well past his playing prime, and the 2010 AL Cy Young has the guts to admit it.Bleacher Report's Scott Miller did a detailed feature on Hernandez, who is coming to terms with the fact that he's not an All-Star pitcher at this stage of his career. He's 8-13 with a 5.46 ERA and 1.404 WHIP in 2018.But though Hernandez has 168 wins and the only perfect game in Mariners history, 'King Felix' feels like he's let the Mariners down. This is despite him being one of the only bright spots on a Seattle team that last made the playoffs in 2001, the longest playoff drought in North American sports right now.advertisingMiller detailed a time where Hernandez "snapped" when the Mariners told him that he was moving to the bullpen. Teammates Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Dee Gordon tried offering support, as well as Texas Rangers slugger Adrian Beltre."I'm so disappointed in myself. I've let the team down," Hernandez told his wife Sandra. "I've let the city down." Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY SportsA six-time All-Star and two-time AL ERA leader, Hernandez owns a handful of the Mariners pitching franchise records. This includes wins (168), strikeouts (2,439), and innings (2 http://www.raysfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey ,620).Thus, it's unfair for Hernandez to be hard on himself, considering he was among the few standout players on the Mariners for almost a decade. But with the Mariners sitting at 15 games above .500 (79-64), one can't help but wonder where they'd be right now if Hernandez was still performing at an All-Star level.advertisingHernandez can draw inspiration from 2011 AL Cy Young and MVP winner, Justin Verlander. After several years of being by far the best pitcher in the AL, Verlander experienced up-and-down tenures in 2013, 2014 and 2015.But Verlander came back in 2016 and nearly won the AL Cy Young. A year later, he was dealt to the Houston Astros and led them to their first World Series championship.聽That was at the age of 34, and Hernandez is only 32."It's been a tough year, man," Hernandez said. "But you know what? I'm hanging in there. I'm competing. That's all I can do."advertising