Yesterday (Tues., Jan. 5) , Matt Holliday agreed to the largest contract in the history of the St. Louis Cardinals.
The free-agent slugger announced on The Doug Gottlieb Show on ESPN Radio that he is re-signing with the team for seven years. The deal is worth $120 million. Holliday will make $15 million a season, plus another $2 million a year in deferred payments – with a vesting option for 2017. If the option doesn’t vest, then the Cardinals can either pick up the option at $17 million or take the buyout for $1 million.
The contract is contingent on Holliday passing a physical.
“Well, I think first of all going into free agency I had in the back of my mind that I really liked my time in St. Louis and felt it was a good fit for me and my family,” Holliday said on the show.
“At the end of the day we decided that was best for us.”
General manager John Mozeliak said in a text message to The Associated Press that he planned to address the media Thursday once Holliday undergoes his physical.
St. Louis acquired Holliday from Oakland in July and he helped lead the Cardinals to their first NL Central title since 2006. They sent several top prospects to the Athletics and justified that expense by retaining a player who hit .353 with 13 homers and 55 RBIs in 63 games for St. Louis.
A three-time All-Star, Holliday was a perfect fit batting cleanup behind star slugger Albert Pujols, though he was the goat in a first-round playoff sweep by the Los Angeles Dodgers
after dropping a sinking liner to left field that would have been the final out of Game 2.
Holliday, who turns 30 on Jan. 15, batted .313 overall with 24 homers and 109 RBIs, his fifth .300 season and third 100-RBI year.
“Obviously, with Albert Pujols on the team you have a great opportunity to have a great team,” Holliday said on the show. “Albert is the best player in the history of baseball in my mind. Hopefully between the two of us we can help do our part to win a World Series.”
Holliday’s agreement is much bigger than the other two big free-agent deals of the offseason: pitcher John Lackey’s $82.5 million, five-year contract with Boston and outfielder Jason Bay’s $66 million, four-year contract with the New York Mets, which was finalized earlier Tuesday.
Holliday’s contract contains a full no-trade clause and deferred money that lowers its annual present-day value to about $16 million, according to The Associated Press.
It also likely sets a floor for negotiations between the Cardinals and Pujols, who is entering the final guaranteed season of a $100 million, seven-year contract. St. Louis holds a $16 million option for 2011 on the three-time NL MVP.
Information from Espn.com and The Associated Press contributed to this report.