Cardinals sign Schumaker, non-tender Theriot

ST. LOUIS The World Champion St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a two-year contract extension with Skip Schumaker that will keep the fan favorite with the club until at least 2013. Schumaker, who turns 32 in February, agreed to the deal shortly before the 11 p.m. deadline Monday night for the Cardinals to tender him a contract. The Cardinals tendered contracts to relievers Jason Motte and Kyle McClellan before the deadline but decided not to offer a contract to infielder Ryan Theriot. Theriot, who lost his starting shortstop spot midway through the season and became a bench player down the stretch and in the playoffs, becomes a free agent. The right-handed hitting middle infielder hit .271 in 132 games but likely would have commanded a salary near 4 million for 2012 in arbitration. Schumaker, who hit .283 in 117 games for the Cardinals in 2011, earned 2.7 million in the final installment of a two-year, 4.7 million deal signed prior to the 2010 season. The second basemanoutfielder is a career .290 hitter in seven seasons with the Cardinals. The amount of his new two-year deal with the club was not immediately known. Motte became the closer down the stretch and posted a 2.25 ERA in 78 games for the Cardinals last season. The hard-throwing right-hander posted a 2.19 ERA in 12 postseason games, holding opponents to a .119 batting average. Tendering him a contract was only a formality. The club hopes to work out a contract with the right-hander to avoid going to arbitration in February. McClellan was tendered a contract despite being left off the roster for both the Division Series and World Series. The right-hander made 17 starts for the Cardinals before being moved to the bullpen, going 12-7 with a 4.19 ERA in 141 23 innings. With a plethora of right-handed relief currently sitting in the Cardinals bullpen, McClellan or right-hander Mitchell Boggs could potentially be moved in a trade.