Cardinals, Flaherty to go to arbitration while Bader, Hicks, Reyes avoid it

The St. Louis Cardinals avoided arbitration with three of the four players who were eligible heading into Friday’s noon deadline. They’re going to arbitration with the other one.

Pitcher Jack Flaherty and the Cardinals were unable to reach agreement on a contract and will submit salary arbitration figures for someone else to decide.

After fashioning a 2.75 ERA in 33 starts in 2019, Flaherty went 4-3 with a 4.91 ERA in nine starts in 2020. The 25-year-old right-hander also had 49 strikeouts in 40.1 innings last season.

Outfielder Harrison Bader and pitchers Jordan Hicks and Alex Reyes reached agreements with the club on one-year contracts, thereby avoiding arbitration.

Bader, 26, asserted himself as one of baseball’s top defensive center fielders while batting .226 with four home runs and 11 RBIs in 50 games last season. Hicks, 24, opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 health concerns while continuing his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Reyes, 26, struck out 27 batters in 19.2 innings pitched over 15 games in 2020.