Cards Sign Clement

John Mozeliak and the St. Louis Cardinals made another move today, signing pitcher Matt Clement to help strengthen the starting rotation.  The deal is for one year, with an option for 2009.  The salary has not yet been released, but the contract is said to be heavily incentive laden.

Starting pitching was the biggest need for the Cards going into this offseason.  In 2007, Cardinal starters were among the leagues worst.

Clement, 33, missed all of ’07, recovering from shoulder surgery.  He most recently pitched with Boston, but is more known for his time with the Chicago Cubs. Lifetime, he is 87-86 with a 4.47 ERA.  View all of his stats here.

I like this move.  No one expects Clement to be a cure for the Cardinals pitching woes, but it’s clearly a low risk, high reward signing.  Personally, I think the starting pitching will be much better in ’08 simply by not handing the ball to anyone named Wells or Maroth.  For some more insight on this signing, check out Bernie’s Extra Points here.