Cardinals, Ludwick avoid arbitration

[February 17, 2009]  ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Ryan Ludwick has agreed to a one-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, avoiding an arbitration hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday.

The outfielder was seeking $4.25 million, with the Cardinals offering $2.8 million. Ludwick made $421,000 last year when he had a breakout season with 37 homers, 113 RBIs and a .299 average.

Monday's deal means the Cardinals avoided a hearing with all five of their arbitration-eligible players this offseason and have not had a hearing since 1999. Outfielder Rick Ankiel agreed to a deal hours before a hearing was scheduled to start last week.

[Associated Press]

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