Jaime Garcia, the St. Louis Cardinals' 25-year-old ace left-hander, is on his way to a contract extension, according to reports from MLB.com and the Post-Dispatch. Reports on Twitter surfaced early Thursday suggesting that Garcia was on his way to a deal worth a guaranteed $27.5 million over four years, with options for two seasons afterward, and while neither Garcia nor John Mozeliak confirmed the reports they were both very calculated in their non-announcements.
The contract allegedly under discussion bears significant familial resemblance to the contract the Cardinals gave Adam Wainwright following his 2007 debut in the starting rotation; that contract had Wainwright making a guaranteed $15 million over four years with two club options that take him through 2013. Garcia's contract reflects his stronger debut while still taking into account the injury history of both Garcia in particular and young starting pitchers in general.
Through two seasons in the starting rotation Jaime Garcia is 21-11 with an ERA of 2.92. His peripherals have improved following his breakout 2010, with the left-hander increasing his strikeout to walk ratio by a full strikeout to 3.17.