Tommy Edman, Cardinals agree to 2-year deal to avoid arbitration

The St. Louis Cardinals announced on X (formerly Twitter) that they have agreed to a two-year contract with infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman.

Tommy Edman’s contract for the next two years with the Cardinals is worth $16.5 million, and he will get $8.25 million in each year before becoming a free agent ahead of the 2026 season. The Cardinals essentially bought out the final two years of Edman’s arbitration before free agency, meaning that they have avoided a hearing this year, and they have avoided the need to negotiate a number for the 2025 season as well.

Edman has been with the Cardinals for five seasons. His best year was in 2022, when he put up 5.6 WAR, according to FanGraphs. That dipped to 2.3 in 2023, and was part of the reason that the Cardinals had a disappointing season.

A lot of the value that Edman brings is in his versatility, he played a lot of games at both of the middle infield spots, and also played a significant amount of games in center field as well in 2023, according to FanGraphs.

It will be interesting to see where Edman plays the majority of his games in 2024. The Cardinals are hoping to bounce back after revamping their pitching staff. Edman hopes to have a year that is more like the one he had in 2022.

The Cardinals’ struggled were mainly due to the pitching staff not performing anywhere near where hoped. The outfield defense was poor as well, as much as rookie Jordan Walker flashed with the bat in his hands. It will be interesting to see if they can bounce back in 2024.