The St. Louis Cardinals have signed first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig to a five-year, $31 million deal, keeping him in a Redbirds uniform through at least the 2017 season.

The deal, announced Friday morning, includes a club option for 2018 and buys out Craig's first two seasons of free agency.

"We are pleased to have reached agreement with Allen on a new multi-year deal," General Manager John Mozeliak said. "He has been a productive middle-of-the-lineup hitter throughout his professional career and we look forward to Allen's continued contributions."

Craig, 28, batted .307 last year, which ranked sixth in the National League, with 22 home runs and 92 RBIs in just 119 games. He missed the start of the season following offseason knee surgery.

"This is a tremendous opportunity and I'm incredibly humbled by it," Craig said. "It's something I can't really fathom at this moment. I'm just excited to be part of this team going forward."

Craig hit a major league-leading .400 (50-for-125) with eight homers and 74 RBIs with runners in scoring position in 2012. The last two years, Craig has batted .374 with runners in scoring position, second only to Cincinnati's Joey Votto at .379.

An eighth-round pick by the Cardinals in the 2006 draft, Craig has a career batting mark of .300 with 37 homers and 150 RBIs in 238 games since his major-league debut in 2010.

Craig hit four home runs in the Cardinals' 2011 postseason run, including three in the World Series as St. Louis defeated Texas in seven games.

He had three game-winning RBIs in the four Cardinals wins in the Fall Classic, tying the major-league record held by Kiki Cuyler in 1925 and Hank Greenberg in 1945.

The Cardinals hope to come to terms on a multi-year contract with pitcher Adam Wainwright before the end of spring training. Wainwright was 14-13 with a 3.94 ERA in 32 starts last season.