The St. Louis Cardinals will be chasing the Chicago Cubs in 2017. This statement is true of all teams in the NL-Central (and likely all teams in MLB). That said, there are glimmers of hope when it comes to the Cards v. Cubs matchups. Pedro Strop, extension announcement made today, is not one of them.
Strop joined the Chicago Cubs in July of 2013 as part of the Jake Arrieta deal. His new extension, announced today, will carry him through the 2018 season with an option year of 2019. The extension is valued at a reported $5.