St. Louis Cardinals closer Jason Motte has seen a lot of ups and downs in the early stages of his career, but he might now be set to have many more ups than downs in the foreseeable future.
The Cardinals agreed to a one-year, $1.95 million contract Wednesday with the man who closed out the franchise’s 11th World Series title.
Although the deal is only for one year, Motte looks like he could be the ninth-inning man for the Cardinals for many years.
Why? That might sound overly optimistic, but he could have long-term success because of his pitching style.
Understandably, many people guffawed at Motte’s pitching style when he first came to the big leagues after being switched from catcher to pitcher in the minor leagues. He throws hard, but he doesn’t have much of a secondary pitch. His slider is very much still a work in progress, and he doesn’t really have a change-up (the out-pitch for many elite closers).
However, all of those so-called deficiencies could turn out to be a blessing...
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