Recapping a signing I overlooked at the end of last week, the St. Louis Cardinals signed Matt Clement to a one year, 1.5 million dollar deal with a club option for 8.75 in 2009 or a quarter of a million buyout, the option can possibly be worth 11 million and buyout worth 2 million, but I don't think anyone sees Clement finishing top five in the 2008 Cy Young vote.
It's hard to believe Clement is all ready 33, it seems like just yesterday he was going from the Padres to the Marlins for Mark Kotsay or to the Cubs for Julian Tavarez and Dontrelle Willis. Clement would go on to have his best three seasons with the Cubs and turn that into a payday with the Boston Red Sox, three years, 25.5 million.
Early returns had the Red Sox deal turning out rosy, Clement would post a first half ERA of 3.85 and earn an All-Star invite, but things quickly spiraled downward - both for his season and Red Sox career - just weeks after the All-Star game Clement would be hit in the head by a Carl Crawford line drive, capping off his worst month of the year with an 8.88 ERA for July.
2006 would be a bad season for Clement and he'd end it with shoulder surgery, causing him to miss all of 2007, which essentially leads us to the signing. The Cardinals desperately need starters, so Clement makes sense, and you can't pass up on a low risk high reward. As stated his best success came for the Cubs in the same National League Central, and he figures to slot in along with Adam Wainright, Braden Looper, Joel Pineiro, and Anthony Reyes.
Other minor league deal signings of note:
Hideo Nomo gets yet another shot at the big leagues with the Kansas City Royals, don't expect him to last beyond the second week of camp, as expected Hideki Irabu is apathetic towards the deal.
Shawn Riggans' job security is non-existent as the backup catcher in Tampa, first the Rays signed former Astros' top catching prospect Hector Gimenez and now they bring back inaugural Ray member Mike DiFelice.
Speaking of the Rays, the Marlins are turning into Tampa southeast, which is a sign of the times in South Beach. Jorge Cantu, Tim Corcoran, Doug Waechter, and Marcos Carvajal are amongst the former Rays hanging around the park, with only Cantu likely to have any positive impact - and that's only if they play him at third with a butterfly net in hand.