KEYNAN Middleton has found a new home for the 2024 MLB season.
The right-handed relief pitcher, 30, started last season with the Chicago White Sox before being traded to the New York Yankees.
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While with the Yankees, Middleton made 12 appearances, striking out 17 batters, and finishing with a 1.88 ERA.
Now he joins the St. Louis Cardinals on a one-year deal worth a reported $6 million, as per MLB.com.
Middleton's new deal also includes a club option for the following season, potentially worth another $5 million.
Otherwise, the buyout for 2025 is set at $1 million.
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This is by far the biggest contract of his career to date.
In seven seasons split between five teams, Middleton has earned an estimated $4.3 million.
Selected in the third round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels out of high school, he had to wait until 2017 to make his debut in the majors.
Middleton played in 64 games that season - his most in a single season to date - before seeing his game time drop in the following three years, not helped by a UCL injury in his throwing arm.
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In 2021, he joined the Seattle Mariners, moving to the Arizona Diamondbacks the following year.
In 205 MLB appearances, Middleton has racked up 199 strikeouts and recorded a 3.84 ERA.
I'm a former MLB All-Star – now I've invested in new career venture known for llamas and a bike-riding Elvis lookalikeNow a member of the Cardinals' bullpen, Middleton will join fellow new faces, and right-handers, Andrew Kittredge, Nick Robertson, Riley O'Brien, and Ryan Fernandez.
Manager Oliver Marmol will be looking for someone to spark the Cardinals back to life after a disappointing 2023 season which saw them finish 71-91.
Spring training is scheduled to begin against the Miami Marlins and the New York Mets on February 24.
Their regular-season opener will see them head to the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 28.
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