Cardinals, Young Outfielder Avoid Arbitration By Agreeing To Contract For 2024 Season

St. Louis reportedly avoided arbitration with one of its young outfielders

There still are a lot of moves to be made before the 2024 Major League Baseball season rolls around.

The deadline for arbitration agreements is Thursday so a plethora of moves will be made. The St. Louis Cardinals -- like many other clubs -- have a handful of arbitration-eligible players.

St. Louis already has been able to get a deal done and reportedly is in agreement with young outfielder Dylan Carlson on a $2.35 million deal to avoid arbitration, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold.

"Source: Dylan Carlson and St. Louis Cardinals are in agreement on a deal that avoids arbitration," Goold said. At $2.35 million."

The 25-year-old had a down year in 2023 but still has plenty of upside. He dealt with multiple injuries last season and appeared in just 76 games. Carlson hit five home runs, drove in 27 runs, and slashed .219/.318/.333 last season.

The young outfielder has been mentioned in trade talks this offseason but he likely will remain with St. Louis at least for the near future. Carlson likely pencils in as St. Louis' fourth outfielder right now behind Jordan Walker, Lars Nootbaar, and Tommy Edman. 

Carlson was mentioned on multiple occasions as a possible trade target by the New York Yankees. While a move certainly still could happen, now that the Cardinals traded away Tyler O'Neill, maybe he will stick around. 

He finished third in the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year voting but hasn't been able to get back to that level of play. Although that is the case, he's very young and has upside, and isn't very expensive.

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