Longoria talks with Rays and Mikolas signing show Cardinals are making splashes

The St. Louis Cardinals have been in contact with the Tampa Bay Rays about closer Alex Colome, "those talks could shift or expand to include third baseman Evan Longoria," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday, citing an unidentified source.

The Rays are also reportedly looking to trim payroll, and Longoria, a Gold Glove winner, is due $86 million through 2022, $94 million if an option is exercised for 2023. Less than two weeks into the coming season Longoria, 32, would achieve “10/5” no-trade rights after 10 years of service time, including the past five with one team.

The Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants continue to await word on Giancarlo Stanton’s decision and whether he would waive his no-trade rights from Miami to accept to go to a new oganization. Both teams met with Stanton and his representatives last week in Los Angeles.

The Cardinals signed pitcher Miles Mikolas to a two-year contract Tuesday that will guarantee the righthanded starter $15.5 million. A native of Jupiter, Fla., who came to Cardinals spring training games as a boy, Mikolas, 29, returns to the majors for the first time since 2014 and after three great seasons in Japan’s top league. He went 14-8 this past season for Yomiuri with a 2.25 ERA and eight strikeouts for every walk.

“Our scouts have watched him as he refined his repertoire, improved his velocity and became one of the most effective pitchers in Japan the last couple (of) seasons,” wrote general manager Michael Girsch in an email.

The Cardinals are coming off their worst season in a decade, going 83-79 They finished a distant third in the NL Central.