ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals have exercised their $11.5 million option on lefthanded starter Jaime Garcia and declined their $9 million mutual option on righthanded reliever Jonathan Broxton, who gets a $2 million buyout.
St. Louis also said Monday that infielder Pete Kozma and catchers Ed Easley and Travis Tartamella have been assigned outright to Triple-A Memphis.
Garcia, 29, was 10-6 with a 2.43 ERA in 20 starts following thoracic outlet surgery, including 7-2 from Aug. 8 through the end of the regular season before losing to the Chicago Cubs in the NL Division Series. He is 52-32 with a 3.31 ERA in 126 regular-season games.
Broxton, 31, was 3-3 with a 2.66 ERA in 26 games after he was acquired from Milwaukee at the trade deadline. He becomes eligible for free agency.
Kozma, 27, a former first-round draft pick, played in 76 games last season. Easley, 29, and Tartamella, 27, both made their major league debuts in 2015.