The St. Louis Cardinals picked up RHP Justin Masterson during the middle of the 2014 MLB season as insurance for their starting staff that had been suspect, as well as riddled with injuries up until that point. Although the Cleveland Indians were technically alive in the AL Central race, the team knew they would lose Masterson anyway this offseason to free agency, and reluctantly had to let him go.
Despite Adam Wainwright‘s injury, it appears the Cardinals will to have to say goodbye to Masterson this offseason, and he projects to be a perfect match the with typically pitching-deep Atlanta Braves in 2015.
It appears likely that the Braves will lose Ervin Santana and could use Masterson as a fall back plan if Santana goes. Atlanta will have a much less injured pitching staff during Spring Training, but with Brandon Beachy and Kris Medlen both coming off their second Tommy John surgeries, it is fair to assume adding another starting pitcher to the mix would make sense for the Braves, who saw an otherwise promising season go down the drain in 2014 as they finished at 79-83 in the NL East.
Masterson went a combined 7-8 with a forgettable 5.88 ERA between St. Louis and Cleveland, which was clearly the worst performance of his career, but he had been nothing less than highly productive for the Indians during his tenure there after being acquired from the Boston Red Sox. You might remember how reluctant the Red Sox were to trade Masterson to the Indians for Victor Martinez many moons ago. His performance in Cleveland solidified their worries were warranted, especially since Martinez was only in Boston for a year and a half.
Masterson’s deal will likely be contingent upon where the pitchers ahead of him in stature go during this hot stove season. Once Max Scherzer, Jon Lester and James Shields sign their respective deals, we should see a domino effect of contracts to the likes of Santana and Masterson by teams who missed out on their prime target.
For that reason, it’s hard to forecast exactly what Masterson will receive, but at 29 years old, it seems logical that he would be looking for at least a three-year deal worth $30 million. However, there is also a chance that his poor performance during a contract year could scare some prospective suitors away and force Masterson to take a one-year deal to build his stock back up. This would be the ideal scenario for the Braves, particularly if they keep Santana.
Timothy Downs is a fantasy sports writer for www.RantSports.com. You can ‘like him’ on Facebook add him on Google or follow him on Twitter @Tidow1212.
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