ST. LOUIS, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Matt Morris, whose breakout season led to a third-place finish in the Cy Young Award voting, avoided arbitration with the St. Louis Cardinals Friday by signing a three-year deal worth a reported $29 million.
One of the league's busier teams this offseason, St. Louis locked up the 27-year-old righthander, who emerged as the ace of the staff in 2001. Morris went 22-8 with a 3.16 ERA last season, when he earned $1.2 million, and could have been a free agent after the 2002 season.
Morris has a record of 44-25 with a 3.09 ERA in a career that was interrupted by elbow surgery in April 1999. He recovered completely in 2001 and tied with Arizona's Curt Schilling for the major league lead in wins.
He finished behind Schilling and Arizona lefthander Randy Johnson in last year's NL Cy Young balloting, a season in which he became the first St. Louis pitcher to win 22 games since Hall of Famer Bob Gibson won 23 in 1970.
In the postseason, Morris started Games One and Five of the Division Series and allowed just two earned runs in 15 innings.
