Agent Barry Axelrod would not divulge financial terms, but Morris is expected to get a guarantee of three years worth approximately $27 million.
I don't want to compare Matt Morris to Eric Milton too much because Morris is a superior pitcher, but there are similarities. Morris has been declining for a couple of years (look at his K numbers) and he's now on the wrong side of 30. It's amazing to me that DanO was willing to spend in the neighborhood of $9 million a year to sign Matt Morris, a guy with clearly declining skills and a history of health problems.
It's tough to know what's going on here. The new owners want things turned around immediately, but it's hard to tell how specific they were when giving DanO that mandate. It could be that DanO is desperately flailing about trying to save his job by hiring former successful Cardinals, or it's possible that Castellini and Co. are actually excited about Tony Womack coming to town. I'm hoping for the former.