Mikolas went 18-4 with a 2.83 ERA in his first season back from Japan. He was the only Cardinals' starter to crack 200 innings, and he was the rotation's representative at the All-Star Game in Washington D.C. He finished sixth in the voting for the Cy Young Award, and he's eligible to be a free agent at season's end due to language in his current contract. The Cardinals signed him to a two-year deal, edging the Cubs and other teams in the bidding, and instead of having to accumulate service time to reach free agency his contract awards him it after the 2019 season.

The Cardinals have interest in extended the deal, and Mikolas could be this spring's candidate for an extension, like Kolten Wong, Paul DeJong, Matt Carpenter, and Adam Wainwright have been before him.

The question will be offer, and where it falls on the spectrum between Kyle Lohse's extension with the Cardinals and what Mike Leake got on the free-agent market.

Mikolas is one of a handful of Cardinals who will be free agents at season's end, from Marcell Ozuna and Paul Goldschmidt in the lineup to Michael Wacha alongside Mikolas in the rotation. Wacha, who also attended Day 2 of the Warm-Up, said his focus is on this coming season and returning to the mound and to form after a 2018 that was sliced short by an oblique injury.