Cardinals extend Chris Carpenter for $63.5M

Ace pitcher Chris Carpenter agreed Monday to a five-year, $63.5-million US contract extension with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Carpenter, 31, is committed to the Cardinals through 2011 with a $15-million US club option or $1-million US buyout for 2012.

The veteran right-hander is guaranteed to earn $8.5 million US next season, $10.5 million US in 2008, $14 million US in 2009, $14.5 million US in 2010 and $15 million US in 2011.

"It was important for us to show what we think of him," Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said.

Carpenter, winner of the Cy Young Award as top pitcher in 2005, finished with a 15-8 record with a 3.08 earned-run average (a National League-best 1.81 ERA at home), five complete games and three shutouts in 32 starts last season.

He then pitched brilliantly in the playoffs, going 3-1 with a 2.78 ERA in five starts as St. Louis captured the World Series.

"[St. Louis] is a place you are going to have an opportunity to win every year," Carpenter said. "Winning the World Series is the best feeling I've ever had playing sports; I'd love to do it again."

Carpenter finished third in Cy Young Award voting to winner Brandon Webb and runner-up Trevor Hoffman, but merited his second straight Players Choice Award as outstanding pitcher in the National League as chosen by his peers.

"Chris is one of the elite pitchers in all of baseball…the leader of our pitching staff," Cardinals chairman William DeWitt said in a statement.

Carpenter is 100-68 overall with a 4.09 ERA, 25 complete games and 12 shutouts in 245 appearances, including 228 starts, over nine MLB seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays and Cardinals.

Career-threatening shoulder problems sidelined him the entire 2003 campaign, but he returned the next season and was named NL comeback player of the year.

Carpenter and Bob Gibson (1968, 1970) are the lone Cardinals to win the Cy Young Award.