Cardinals exercise 2015 option on Lackey

Oct 30, 2014 - 8:44 PM St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - The St. Louis Cardinals exercised their contract option on starting pitcher John Lackey for the 2015 season on Thursday.

Lackey, who was acquired from Boston at the trade deadline, will earn the league minimum $500,000 in 2015 after making $15.25 million in each of the last three seasons.

The right-hander went 14-10 with a 3.82 earned run average over 31 starts split between the Cardinals and Red Sox last season.

Lackey won his postseason start against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the National League Division Series, but gave up four runs on five hits in a loss to the eventual champion San Francisco Giants in the NLCS.

The 36-year-old has compiled a 152-117 record with a 4.03 ERA in 355 games over 12 seasons with the Angels, Red Sox and Cardinals.