Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch is reporting (via twitter) that the Cardinals have reached a one year deal with Ryan Ludwick avoiding arbitration. The deal is said to be slightly above the mid-point between the club's offer of $2.8 million and Ludwick's request of $4.25 which would put the value somewhere around $3.75 million. Considering the outfielder made just $411,000 last year, that's a pretty decent raise.
The Cardinals recently came to a similar deal with Ludwick's fellow arbitration elligible outfielder Rick Ankiel for $2.85 million and have not gone to a hearing since their 1999 case against Darren Oliver.
We'll update this post when the final details of the deal become known.
Update: Goold has the story up over at stltoday.com but the official word on the financial details is still unknown.
Update: Jayson Stark of ESPN says the deal is for $3.7 million with another $100,000 possible if he hits 675 plate appearances.
