The St. Louis Cardinals on Monday avoided a potential arbitration hearing with Tommy Edman, agreeing to a two-year contract with the infielder-outfielder.

Edman, 28, has batted .265 with 53 home runs, 222 RBIs and 106 stolen bases in 596 games over five seasons with the Cardinals, who selected him in the sixth round of the 2016 MLB Draft.

“Tommy’s strong fundamental play, athleticism and versatility remains a valuable asset that we view as an important part of our team identity,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said in a news release.

Last season in 137 games, the switch-hitting Edman batted .248 with 13 homers, 47 RBIs and a team-high 27 stolen bases in 31 attempts. His versatility included 51 games at second base, 48 at shortstop, 42 in center field and eight in right field.

The National League Gold Glove winner for second basemen in 2021, Edman was an NL finalist for the third consecutive season in 2023.

Edman has stolen 106 bases in 123 attempts in his career, an 86.2 percent success rate that is third-best in MLB history for players with at least 120 attempts.

–Field Level Media