Cardinals OK contracts with Cox and Butler

ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals got a pair of potential bench replacements Tuesday, agreeing to one-year contracts with infielder Brent Butler and first baseman-outfielder Steve Cox.

The deal for Butler, a third-round draft pick of St. Louis in 1996, pays him an annual rate of $350,000 if he is in the major leagues and $100,000 if he's in the minors. He hit .211 in 37 games with the Rockies last year but spent most of the season with Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Butler, 25, went to the Rockies in a seven-player trade in 1999 that brought the late Darryl Kile to St. Louis.

Cox, 29, gets paid at an annual rate of $375,000 if he's in the majors and $125,000 if he's in the minors.

He was the starting first baseman for Tampa Bay in 2002, batting .254 with 16 homers, 30 doubles and 72 RBIs.

The left-handed hitting Cox was obtained by the Devil Rays from Oakland in the 1997 expansion draft.