As busy as the the front office said the Cardinals were going to be this off season, they have not really lived up to it quite yet, that is until yesterday.

The Cardinals went with a high risk, high reward type of signing, inking pitcher Miles Mikolas to a two year, $15.5 million contract. Mikolas has spent the last three seasons in Japan, pitching for the Yomiuri Giants, and compiling a 31-13 record with a stellar 2.18 ERA, which is lower than any MLB starter put up in 2017. However, this deal does come with its risk. Mikolas spent time in the Majors, and he struggled. In parts of three seasons from 2012 to 2014 with the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers, Mikolas went 4-6 with a 5.32 ERA, which is quite high. Though, in 2012 with San Diego he showed some promise going 2-1 with a 3.62 ERA. However, going to play in Japan has worked on players before, so it seems like a 50/50 chance on how he performs.

“Mikolas was an exceptional add, he is exactly what we needed, a stop gap to our other top prospects, but will still give us a quality pitcher in the meantime,” sophomore Hayden See said.

Mikolas is only 28, and was born in Jupiter, Florida. This is of importance as Jupiter is where the Cardinals host spring training. The Lizard King, Mikolas’s nickname as he ate a live lizard once, will join a rotation of Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha, Luke Weaver, and Adam Wainwright.

The club also traded 2016 All-Star shortstop Aledmys Diaz to the Toronto Blue Jays recently. Diaz, who had an incredible 2016 season, took a big step back in 2017, spending most of the season in the minors. In return, the Cardinals acquired outfielder JB Woodman.

As for the rest of the offseason, the Cardinals have been rumored around multiple players, most notably Giancarlo Stanton. The reigning NL MVP and Home Run king knocked out 59 homers last season. An early indication says that the Cardinals trade package would revolve around top pitching prospect Sandy Alcantara, plus taking on about $260 million of Stanton’s 295 million dollar contract. As always, it’s good for teams to have Plan B’s. The team has been in heavy trade talks with the Rays as well, looking at 3 time all-star third baseman Evan Longoria, all star closer Alex Colome, and two time all star Chris Archer. All players would seem to have a nice fit in St. Louis, but getting all three would cost in huge prospect losses.

With the MLB’s Winter Meetings coming fast, it’ll be worth watching Michael Girsch, John Mozeliak, and the rest of the Cardinals front office, to see what they have in store for the 2018 ball club.