ST. LOUIS -- Not only has Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt been arguably the best rookie in the National League, he's also been one of the finest players in the sport in 2026. Now he's getting rewarded for that success, as Wetherholt and St. Louis agreed on a contract extension that runs through the 2034 season.
The contract is for eight years and $112.5 million, according to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman.
“I've always been the kind of guy who wants to respect and do well to those who do well to me, and so for them to take that step toward me, it means a lot,” Wetherholt said. “And St. Louis, it's been just great to be embraced by the fans, the culture that we're really trying to build here, to just continue to to get back to playing the baseball that this town deserves.”
Selected seventh overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, Wetherholt, 23, is enjoying a strong rookie campaign in St. Louis. His 13 homers entering Friday rank second among NL rookies, while his 91 hits rank third and his .773 OPS ranks fifth. He also leads all NL rookies with 57 runs scored.
“I think his play speaks for itself,” Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said. “What you might not get to see as much is who he is, how he works, how he prepares, how he learns, how much he wants to be great, how much he cares about winning. All of that is great. He checks those boxes, so we're really, really excited.”
But his contributions haven't been limited to his bat. On defense, Wetherholt leads all MLB second basemen with 16 outs above average. The total package has been worth 3.9 bWAR so far, also the highest among MLB second basemen and fourth among NL position players.
He enters Friday hitting .319 with an .822 OPS over his past 12 games.
“When you talk about an extension and locking someone in for eight years, you're betting on the person,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “You're betting on the consistency of personality. You're betting on the work ethic. That years from today, you know exactly what's going to continue to walk through that door, and that speaks to the way he's carried himself, the way he treats people and the way he goes about his work.”
Cardinals CEO Bill DeWitt III said Wetherholt is a key member of a young core that the team plans to build around.
“Locking him up for this long period of time feels like one down and several more to go at some point, but it's a nice organizational milestone,” DeWitt said. “But it's really just the beginning, and I think it shows hopefully our fans that we're committed to this process.”
Bloom echoed those thoughts as it relates to the Wetherholt signing.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Bloom said. “We know we're not where we want to be yet. We got to work hard. We got to work with purpose. We got to work with urgency. But we feel that this commitment that we're making with JJ is a nice step.”