The center fielder will be in St. Louis on Friday for a physical with the Cardinals after the sides agreed to a deal Thursday, sources told ESPN's Mark Saxon, confirming a story first reported by KSDK-TV.
The agreement comes just over a month after Fowler helped the Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years.
It came as no surprise Fowler turned down his mutual option with Chicago; he was seen as grossly underpaid for his performance in the team's World Series triumph. Fowler made $13 million in 2016, returning to the Cubs for one year only after exploring the free-agent market last winter and finding it unsatisfactory. After producing an on-base percentage of .393 in 2016 and hitting 13 home runs -- in addition to a Game 7 World Series blast -- Fowler was due a big payday.
He also was credited with playing better defense in 2016, after he and the team agreed he should be play deeper. The result was a plus-1 in defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs. In 2015, Fowler was minus-12.
But Fowler's biggest contributions came at the top of the order, where Cubs manager Joe Maddon used to say to him "you go, we go" as his first-inning on-base percentage in 2016 was .479. He was truly the ignition to the Cubs offense throughout his two years with the team.
The Fowler moves comes an offseason after the Cubs signed Jason Heyward and John Lackey away from the Cardinals last offseason
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