Cardinals signed LHP Randy Choate to a three-year, $7.5 million contract.

The deal became official after Choate passed a physical Friday in St. Louis. A 37-year-old left-handed specialist, Choate has held left-handed batters to a .201/.278/.284 career slash line and also gets plenty of ground balls. While there's a chance he might not be effective by the end of the deal, the Cards didn't invest much.

ESPN's Jayson Stark reports that the Cardinals have agreed to a deal with left-hander Randy Choate.

The Cards had interest in Sean Burnett, but the asking price grew to large for their liking. So the club went down to the second tier of lefty specialists and plucked a pretty good one. Choate, 37, has held left-handed hitters to a .201/.278/.284 batting line over the course of his 12-year MLB career.

Randy Choate is day-to-day with a bruised left hand.

Good news for the Dodgers. Choate was forced to leave Monday's game after being hit in the base of his left hand with a comebacker, but no X-rays were needed. He should be good to go in a day or two.