Mark Ellis doesn’t mind not starting for St. Louis Cardinals

Second baseman Mark Ellis, who recently signed with the St. Louis Cardinals, does not mind taking a supporting position if it means playing for a contender.
October 15, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Mark Ellis (14) throws to first to turn a double play as St. Louis Cardinals center fielder Jon Jay (19) slides into second in the sixth inning in game four of the National League Championship Series baseball game at Dodger Stadium. Image Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
I was originally curious as to why the Cards were going after Ellis because he only really played second base and I assumed that if Kolten Wong had a day off, it would mean Matt Carpenter sliding back to second base and Daniel Descalso starting at third base. I don’t mind being wrong at all if it means helping the Cardinals hit against left-handed pitching.

Ellis spoke to the St. Louis media on a conference call and spoke highly of the organization.

"“As much as you can tell being on the outside looking in, it’s a (team) that I’ve always been very curious about,” Ellis said from his offseason home in Arizona. “I was interested to know how they keep doing it every year. They lose an Albert Pujols and … they’re just as good as they were before. It seemed like they didn’t miss a beat when they had somebody go down or they lose somebody to free agency. That interested me.“You can’t determine where you’re going to go based on if you’re going to win the World Series,” he continued. “But you can go there based on who you think has the best chance.”"

Signings like these show what the Cardinal Way is all about.

Did having Wong slated to start at have any effect on Ellis choosing to sign?

"“The most specific thing they said was they want to win and they want to win now,” Ellis said. “That’s all I needed to hear. … I know that Kolten Wong is a favorite of a lot people in their organization and for good reason. I’m coming there to be on the 25-man roster, whatever my role is. It may not be defined exactly yet what that is, but it’s being a baseball player.”"

The Cardinals are paying him just over $5 million this season.