Cardinals avoid arbitration with five, no deal yet for Tommy Edman

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals and outfielder Dylan Carlson agreed to a $2.35 million contract Thursday to avoid arbitration, though the club could not reach a deal with versatile Tommy Edman and will exchange salary figures with him.

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 their future, though, and he will find time in the outfield behind Edman, Jordan Walker and Lars Nootbar.

His salary was big increase from the $742,400 that Carlson made 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 made $4.2 million last season.

The Cardinals also announced they had avoided salary arbitration with pitchers Ryan Helsley John King, Andrew Kittredge and JoJo Romero.

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