ESPN.com has reported that Tony La Russa has signed a 1 year contract to resume his position as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.  His current 2 year $8.5 million contract is due to expire at the end of this month.  Terms of his new contract were not available.  This is the first time he has decided to sign a 1 year contract rather than the traditional multi-year deals he has done with the Cardinals.  Additionally, Mark McGwire will be joining La Russa’s staff as hitting coach.

ESPN reports that La Russa first contacted McGwire about the coaching job a week earlier, when he was still supposedly mulling his future. He said McGwire showed immediate interest, but the manager said the steroids topic was not broached.

“It’s up to Mark how he wants to handle it,” La Russa said. “What we want him to do is coach our hitters, and if he does that well, we’re going to be happy.”

Being a hitting instructor is not new to McGwire.  He’s spent time tutoring Matt Holliday and Skip Schumaker.