Jack Flaherty's Contract Renewed by Cardinals After Sides Fail to Agree on Deal

The St. Louis Cardinals announced they have agreed to terms on one-year contracts with 24 players for the nearing 2020 MLB season Sunday.

Written at the bottom: "We have also renewed the contract of RHP Jack Flaherty."

"Per team policy, he'll receive a $10,000 reduction in salary as penalty," Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch added. "But the team did stretch their formula to give him a $10,000 bonus for a fourth-place finish in the Cy Young Award voting. Those offset, so he received a $604,500 salary for 2020, per a source."

This is the second straight year the 24-year-old ace has been unable to reach an agreement with the Cardinals on his contract. The 2020 campaign will be Flaherty's fourth in St. Louis, which makes this the last year the club can take this route with him. 

Flaherty will enter his first of three arbitration-eligible years in 2021. 

Goold had reported Thursday that the Cardinals start pre-arbitration salaries at a $563,500 minimum salary and build upon that foundation "based on service time and performance." The alleged bonus for Flaherty's fourth-place 2019 Cy Young finish would fall under the club's intention to "recognize exceptional performance."

Goold also disclosed St. Louis, having "used this formula for several years," factors in a player's wins above replacement. Flaherty finished last season with a 5.9 WAR, according to Baseball Reference, which was ranked eighth among all MLB pitchers. FanGraphs, meanwhile, calculated a 4.7 WAR for the 2014 first-round pick.

In 2019, Flaherty recorded his best major league season since debuting in 2017. The right-hander went 11-8 with a 2.75 ERA and National League-leading 0.97 WHIP across 196.1 innings pitched in 33 regular-season starts. He also struck out 231 batters. 

Flaherty finished behind New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom (first), then-Los Angeles Dodgers southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu (second) and Washington Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer (third) in the NL Cy Young Award voting.

Flaherty was named St. Louis' Opening Day starter on Feb. 22. He enters 2020 as the Cards' undisputed ace. The rotation will likely be rounded out by 25-year-old Dakota Hudson, 31-year-old Miles Mikolas and 38-year-old Cardinals lifer Adam Wainwright.

The Cardinals will open their regular season when the Cincinnati Reds visit Busch Stadium on March 26.