SPORTS

Former McCutcheon, Purdue pitcher Nick Wittgren signs with St. Louis Cardinals

Sam King
Lafayette Journal & Courier
Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Nick Wittgren delivers against the Chicago White Sox during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, in Cleveland. The Indians defeated the White Sox 7-4. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)

Nick Wittgren will supply a new Major League Baseball club with a right-handed reliever this season.

The 30-year-old pitcher, entering his seventh MLB season, signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, according to multiple reports.

The Cardinals will be the third franchise for Wittgren, a former standout at McCutcheon High School and as a closer for the Purdue Boilermakers.

Wittgren played for the Miami Marlins from 2016-18 before being traded to Cleveland. He was granted free agency in November. 

After Major League Baseball and the league's players association ended a nearly 100-day lockout by agreeing to a new collective bargaining agreement last week, clubs were able to sign free agent.

On Sunday, Wittgren signed with St. Louis for a reported $1.2 million.

In six seasons — three each with Miami and Cleveland — Wittgren is 18-15 with a 3.75 earned run average and five saves. He's coming off a season in which he struggled, going 2-9 with a career-worst 5.05 ERA.

Wittgren is a 2009 McCutcheon graduate who played his first season of college baseball at Parkland College in Illinois. He was Purdue's closer in the 2011 and '12 seasons, helping the Boilermakers win the Big Ten title as a junior before declaring for the first-year player draft.

Wittgren was drafted in the ninth round by the Marlins in 2012. In 2013, he was named Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year by MiLB.com. In 2015, Wittgren pitched in the Triple A all-star game

"Thank you to everyone that has already welcomed my family and I to the Cardinals," Wittgren wrote on an Instagram post Sunday evening. "We are excited for the season ahead and this new chapter in our lives. Now ... let's get down to business!"

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.