Cardinals Sign Allen Craig To 5 Year Deal

[key2win]

Y! SPORTS

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) -- Allen Craig, coming off a breakout season with the St. Louis Cardinals, agreed Friday to a $31 million, five-year contract that could be worth $43 million over six seasons.

Craig gets $1.75 million this year, $2.75 million in 2014, $5.5 million in 2015, $9 million in 2016 and $11 million in 2017. The Cardinals have a $13 million option for 2018 with a $1 million buyout.

The 28-year-old Craig would have been eligible for salary arbitration next winter and for free agency after the 2016 World Series.

He has 150 RBIs in 238 big league games and was sixth in the NL last season with a .307 average. He had 22 home runs and 92 RBIs despite not playing his first game until May 1 following offseason surgery on his right knee.

[gladdyontherise]

Solid deal.

[jwgreen68]

Yup, good deal for both. This deal probably makes Matt Adams expendable. The Cardinals will, more than likely, have Matt Carpenter backing up at 1st, 2nd and 3rd, so Adams would only be pinch hitting and DH at bats in interleague games, and it doesn't make sense to leave him at AAA bashing away what leverage the Cardinals still have with 2 years left on his contract. The bigger question is, what to go after in return? Shortstop?

Hope Allen Craig has another good season.

[whitney777]

makes sense for both sides