Cardinals rumors: Adam Wainwright extension talks starting soon

The St. Louis Cardinals and right-hander Adam Wainwright will begin talks on a "long" and "expensive" contract extension in the coming weeks, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals both said Saturday, the first day of the 17th annual fanfest in downtown St. Louis, that discussions about an extension are expected to spark in the coming weeks as the team prepares to report for spring training...

"It’s a little more open-ended," [GM John] Mozeliak said. "It doesn’t look like we’ve had any dialogue to this point (with) any lines drawn in the sand."

Goold adds that the two sides actually began extension talks in the final month of the 2012 season, and that Wainwright liked "where it was headed," but that the right-hander decided to postpone their discussions so that he could focus on the postseason.

The open-endedness of the two sides' upcoming discussions are in stark contrast to the ultimatum Albert Pujols set for the front office two years ago. Entering the final year of a six-year, $36 million contract, Wainwright has demonstrated that he is worth a long-term deal.

Though the right-hander missed the 2011 season in its entirety with Tommy John surgery, he came back strong in 2012, posting rate stats -- 8.3 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 -- right in line with his career norms. The 2010 NL Cy Young runner-up owns a 3.15 ERA, 7.6 K/9 rate and 2.5 BB/9 rate in 1073 innings across seven big-league seasons.