Cardinals still mulling Garcia's option

Though the Cardinals appear set to part ways with Matt Holliday, the club is still mulling whether to pick up its $12-million option on Jaime Garcia, the veteran left-hander who's spent his entire career with St. Louis

Garcia, the club's third-longest tenured player, managed to avoid the disabled list this year for the first time since 2011, but his effectiveness waned, as the 30-year-old posted a 4.67 ERA - his worst since briefly debuting in 2008 - with a 1.38 WHIP over 171 2/3 innings.

The issue, Garcia said, was faulty mechanics, which may have suffered as he focused on avoiding injury. Over the previous four seasons, Garcia hadn't once made more than 20 starts or eclipsed 129 2/3 innings.

"I got caught up so much in being healthy and working hard to stay healthy that sometimes mechanics took a hit," Garcia told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I found it now. Gives you that good feeling going into the offseason to build on and be positive about. I know who I am. I know the kind of pitcher I am. I know I'm capable of doing a lot better than I did this year. I’m healthy. I just have to put it all together."

Selected by St. Louis in the 22nd round of the 2005 draft, Garcia has spent his entire adult life in the Cardinals' organization, and would relish the opportunity to stick around. Still, the Mexico native may be superfluous in a rotation that's been bolstered by the addition of Mike Leake and promotion of Alex Reyes.

The Cardinals have until five days after the conclusion of the World Series to pick up their option on Garcia, who owns a career 3.57 ERA (109 ERA+) with a 2.77 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 147 starts and nine relief appearances.

"Helping this team any way I can is what I want to do," Garcia said. "It's out of my control. I would love to stay here."