Last season the Chicago Cubs signed Jason Heyward and John Lackey away from the St. Louis Cardinals. This year, the Redbirds returned the favor by signing highly-coveted free-agent outfield Dexter Fowler to a 5-year, $82.5M contract.
Fowler, who helped the Cubs to the team’s first World Series title in 108 years, batted .276, with 13 HR and 48 RBIs in 2016. The center fielder is expected to help improve the Cardinals’ defense and will add much-needed speed on the base paths.
Fowler was the top target of Cardinals GM John Mozeliak during the offseason and he made an aggressive bid to seal the deal. It worked.
A proven leadoff hitter, Fowler is expected to bat at the top of the lineup and allow Matt Carpenter to slide down into the third-spot in the order.
Randal Grichuk, who manned the center field position for the Cardinals last season, is expected to move over to left field after the Redbirds allowed Matt Holliday to sign with the New York Yankees.
It won’t take long for Fowler to be reunited with his former team as the Cardinals open the season against the rival Cubs on April 2 in St. Louis.
Information from ESPN.com was used to create this report.
