Cardinals Reportedly Will Discuss Contract Extension With Rising Star

It sounds like the Cardinals may end up inking an extension with a rising star soon

The St. Louis Cardinals will have a tough decision to make soon.

Cardinals rising star Thomas Edman is set to enter an arbitration hearing with the club shortly, but there is a chance that the two sides end up working out a separate deal ahead of time. 

Edman is the only Cardinals arbitration-eligible player to not agree to a deal with the club already this offseason. Although this is the case, instead of signing a one-year deal in arbitration, there's a chance the two sides agree to a multi-year extension instead, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold. 

"Edman was the only arbitration-eligible player to not reach an agreement with the Cardinals ahead of this past week’s deadline," Goold said. "He filed a salary request for $6.95 million, and the Cardinals made a salary offer of $6.5 million. An arbiter will choose between those two numbers after hearing arguments from both sides. The Cardinals have adopted a “file to go” approach — meaning once they get that far with a player, they’ll go to a hearing and halt negotiations.

"There is one caveat. The Cardinals will discuss a multi-year contract. Edman said he expects that conversation to take place as the hearing nears, but he has not been involved in any discussion about a multiyear contract yet. If that doesn’t happen, he’s braced for what he’ll hear in the room."

Edman has been mentioned in trade rumors over the last year but it sounds like there's a chance he sticks around in St. Louis for the foreseeable future. The young utility man had a strong season in 2023 and already has one Gold Glove Award under his belt. He clearly is an important part of the Cardinals and it sounds like an extension could be a possibility.

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