ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals filled the biggest void in their bullpen Monday with Brett Cecil, the only left-handed reliever that piqued their interest on the free-agent market.Cecil was introduced at Busch Stadium after finalizing a $30.5 million, four-year contract. He is expected to provide help in high-leverage situations along with Kevin Siegriest and ahead of closer Seung Hwan Oh, though general manager John Mozeliak said all three are capable of finishing games.Brett was the one person we thought if we were going to make a splash in the bullpen, he was the one we identified, Mozeliak said. There was a lot of demand for him and it was moving.The four-year deal for the 30-year-old Cecil gained attention, but Mozeliak said he was comfortable with the length of the contract because of the interest he was generating.Our offseason plan has been to take steps to try to improve this club and certainly today we feel like we have, Mozeliak said. I think its a way we envision keeping a fresh bullpen.Shoring up the bullpen became one of the Cardinals biggest needs following injuries to Zach Duke and Tyler Lyons. Duke is expected to miss all of next season after Tommy John surgery, while Lyons has had offseason knee surgery that leaves him questionable for the start of the regular season.Cecil had a 3.93 ERA in 36 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays last season. He was slowed by a torn lat muscle but dominated down the stretch, tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings in the playoffs.The lat issue, it was kind of an accumulating thing, Cecil said. We tried to rest, tried to let it heal. It wasnt working. I was sidelined for six weeks. I almost had to start spring training over again in the middle of the season. It took me a little bit to get going, and there in August and toward the end of the season and in the playoffs, I was beginning to feel like my old self again.Cecil, who had a 2.90 ERA in four years as a full-time reliever in Toronto, was testing free agency for the first time. He said that he left most of the negotiations up to his agent, but he was happy that a deal got done relatively early in the process.I honestly didnt know when it was going to happen, he said. I do like to get these types of things over and done with as quickly as possible. That way I can get my focus more toward the offseason, to come to spring training ready to go.Under the deal negotiated by agents Sam and Seth Levinson, Cecil gets a $1 million signing bonus, payable within 30 days of the deals approval by Major League Baseball, and salaries of $7.5 million in each of the next three seasons and $7 million in 2020. He also receives a full no-trade provision and award bonuses.Cecil said he doesnt know anybody on the current roster, which is still in need of an outfielder, but that the longtime American League pitcher is ready to take on the National League.Absolutely. This team is rich with baseball history, he said. They have a rich winning tradition. They always have good teams -- good, winning teams. And like I said, for my family and me, this is where we wanted to come. It was the best fit for us. Junior Fernandez . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. Cheap Cardinals Jerseys . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. http://www.custommlbcardinalsjersey.com/custom-paul-goldschmidt-jersey-large-1191q.html . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Keith Hernandez . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Chris Carpenter . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. MINNEAPOLIS -- Lindsay Whalen hobbled through the regular season last year. She hobbled through the playoffs. She even hobbled through the Minnesota Lynx championship celebration.And so when it came time to head overseas for an 11th straight winter to go cash in on a cant-miss opportunity to make the kind of money that just isnt available to womens basketball players in the United States, Whalen decided she had enough.Her ankle, Achilles tendon and back were telling her to stay home. So were family members who had grown so accustomed to her being gone through the holidays. As her career enters the final few years, she decided to give her body a mental and physical break from the year-round grind she had been doing for so long. And it was one of the best decisions shes ever made.It was hard sometimes. But about a week into training camp I was so thankful, Whalen said. I was so fresh. I felt great. I felt healthy. I felt I was really enjoying everything. Playing for years upon years straight, at times it will be a little much.A rejuvenated Whalen helped push the Lynx to the best record in the WNBA and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, which continue when they host the Phoenix Mercury in Game 1 of the semifinals on Wednesday.Last year at this time, Whalen had missed four straight games in the regular season and was a question mark going into the postseason. She found a way to gut through the pain in her legs, which culminated with the franchises third championship. But at 34 years old, it was time to take a step back.Whalen had played overseas for a decade, often earning $600,000 a year or more in Russia or Turkey. Its life-changing money, and for players with finite careers, it can be difficult to pass up.Ive been juggling this decision for about three years, Lynx guard Seimone Augustus said. More often than not, at the end of the year we start talking to teams overseas about new contracts, and the money is just so good, youre like, `All right I was thinking aabout taking time off, but .dddddddddddd.. .It can actually go in reverse. Mercury star Diana Taurasi sat out the entire WNBA season last year at the behest of her team in Russia, which paid her nearly $1.5 million in 2015.They offered to pay me to rest and Ive decided to take them up on it, Taurasi wrote in a letter to Mercury fans at the time. I want to be able to take care of myself and my family when I am done playing.Taurasi returned to the WNBA this season, and also teamed with Whalen, Augustus and Team USA to win gold at the Rio Games. And while the Mercury struggled to find their footing early in the season, they have taken off in the playoffs with wins over Indiana and New York in the first two single-elimination rounds of the tournament, setting up the five-game series with Minnesota that will feature 11 Olympians.The WNBA is the more prestigious league for the players, but the maximum salaries stateside are $111,500. Good money, but not overseas money.She made a very tough decision because making money overseas, opportunities to earn that kind of money once these players are done playing isnt going to be there, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said of Whalen. There is no job theyre going to transition into that is going to pay them $600-700,000. So you cant blame them for wanting to earn that as long as they can.The 32-year-old Augustus said being home with family during the holidays, and seeing how well Whalen has played this year, have her thinking she will finally stay home this winter.Lindsay looks amazing, Augustus said. The quickness, the speed, the agility. Thats how I want to feel coming into next year.The way Whalen sees it, there was no decision to make.My body showed me last year when I wasnt able to play, Whalen said. Thats what showed me when it was time to stop. Each player will have to make that decision when its time to go. ' ' '