Left-hander signs two-year deal, will report to camp after Classic By Matthew Leach / MLB.com JUPITER, Fla. -- For the second consecutive year, the Cardinals have addressed a need after the start of Spring Training. St. Louis signed Dennys Reyes to a two-year contract worth $3 million on Thursday, adding left-handed depth to its bullpen and likely ending a wide-open race for the second left-handed spot in the relief corps. The deal includes up to $500,00 in incentives. "Every time that we've seen him, especially as a specialist, he's made left-handers look silly," manager Tony La Russa said. "And he can pitch to right-handers." Reyes, 31, will pitch for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic and will not report to Cardinals camp until the Mexican team is eliminated from the tournament. Mexico begins play on Sunday against Australia in Mexico City and Reyes pitched a scoreless inning with one hit, one strikeout and three walks in Thursday's exhibition game against the Rockies. Reyes was one of three experienced lefty relievers available on the market, along with Joe Beimel and Will Ohman. His acquisition followed a morning meeting between general manager John Mozeliak, La Russa and the Cards' coaching staff during which the brain trust discussed how camp has gone thus far. One topic in that meeting was left-handed relief. The Cardinals signed Trever Miller this winter to fill one lefty spot in the bullpen, but brought in several candidates to scuffle for the second position. Out of that group -- including Royce Ring, Charlie Manning, Ian Ostlund and Katsuhiko Maekawa -- no one had really caught the staff's eye so far. Thus the addition of Reyes. "One of the things we tried to do this offseason was upgrade from the left side," Mozeliak said. "This gives us the ability to do that. ... We went into camp thinking that what we had was going to be good enough, then this opportunity happened and we didn't want to ignore it." Left-handed relief was a problem throughout 2008 for the Cardinals. Randy Flores had a disappointing season, and Ron Villone was asked to fill a number of roles -- some of which he was suited for, and some not so much. St. Louis parted ways with both of them as well as Tyler Johnson, who had been a valuable reliever before sustaining a shoulder injury and missing all of '08. As a result, the club started with a clean slate on the left side for 2009. Miller signed before the calendar turned to '09, and the Cards at first attempted a bulk approach for the second job. With none of the candidates really seizing the opportunity, though, and with Reyes still available, St. Louis acted. Reyes has been versatile over the years, but the Cardinals envision him primarily as a specialist. "We do like the fact that he does seem to be able to handle right-handed hitters," Mozeliak said. "But I do think his role -- and the reason he's successful -- is that he's very good with left-handed hitters." Over a 12-year Major League career, Reyes has done just about everything, from making 40 starts to collecting two saves. Recently, though, he's pitched mostly as a one- or two-out pitcher vs. left-handed hitters. He made 75 appearances for Minnesota in 2008, but pitched just 46 1/3 innings, posting a 2.33 ERA with 39 strikeouts, 15 walks and four home runs. Left-handers hit .202 against him with a .250 on-base percentage and a .287 slugging percentage. For his career, Reyes has a 32-32 record and 4.28 ERA in 535 appearances. He has recorded 583 strikeouts and 356 walks in 646 innings. Left-handers have a composite line of .237/.330/.340 against him over the course of his career. One year ago, the Redbirds signed starter Kyle Lohse to a one-year pact after Grapefruit League games had gotten under way. Villone was also a Spring Training addition in 2008. --

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