Cardinals, Adam Wainwright contemplating contract extension

The St. Louis Cardinals and right-hander Adam Wainwright are interested in working out a long-term contract extension this offseason, reports Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

"In brief talks with (Cardinals executives) they feel real good about me coming back for a long time, and I want to make that happen," Wainwright said. "I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t make that happen. ... It’s not like I have one foot out the door (to free agency).

"If I’m being honest, they have to show they respect what I’ve done and what I will do. And they have. They have. So I don’t think it will be a problem."

As it stands now, the 31-year-old Wainwright will earn $12 million for the 2013 season, the final year of a six-year, $36 million contract. Given Wainwright’s performance, age and injury history, it seems more likely that the right-hander will receive an extension in the range of the two-year, $29 million deal Jake Peavy signed last week rather than the record six-year, $127.5 million extension given to Matt Cain.

After missing all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Waino put together a solid 2012, posting a 3.94 ERA and 8.3 K/9 in nearly two hundred innings. While it was not quite up to his pre-surgery standards, it was still a good season, all things considered.