On December 5th, 2012, the St. Louis Cardinals made a curious move in signing free agent left-handed relief pitcher Randy Choate. In itself, the choice of signing Choate was not what made the move curious because he had proven to be an effective reliever against left-handed hitters over the course of his career. Rather, the head-scratching part was that the Cardinals were giving a 37-year-old, one-dimensional reliever a three-year contract (worth $7.5 million). The situation seemed to call for one of those one year, $2-3 million deals where, if all goes well, the team will bring the player back the next season with a slight pay raise as a token of appreciation.
What's next for the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen with Randy Choate off the books?
