ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals and outfielder Dylan Carlson agreed to a $2.35 million, one-year contract Thursday to avoid arbitration, though the club could not reach a deal with versatile Tommy Edman.
The 25-year-old Carlson has long been considered one of the Cardinals’ top young players, but he is coming off a disappointing and injury- filled season in which he hit just .219 with five homers and 27 RBIs. The club still views him as an important piece of its future, though, and he will find time in the outfield behind Edman, Jordan Walker and Lars Nootbar.
Carlson made $742,400 last season.
Edman, a Gold Glove finalist as a utility player the past two seasons, has been recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right wrist in October. He missed three weeks last season with inflammation in the wrist, and it may have contributed to a downtick in his production at the plate, where he hit .248 with 13 homers and 47 RBIs in 137 games.
The 28-year-old Edman earned $4.2 million last season. He asked for $6.95 million this year, while the Cardinals countered at $6.5 million.
Edman can still negotiate a deal with the club before an arbitration hearing. Eligible players without agreements will be scheduled for hearings before three-person panels from Jan. 29 through Feb. 16 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Cardinals also announced they had avoided salary arbitration with pitchers Ryan Helsley ($3.8 million), John King ($1,005,000), Andrew Kittredge ($2,263,000) and JoJo Romero ($860,000).
