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Contract extensions are all the rage in MLB this year, with young players like the Pirates’ Konnor Griffin, the Tigers’ Kevin McGonigle and the Mariners’ Colt Emerson assuring they’ll be with their teams for many years to come. The Cardinals have had several young players take big steps forward already this year, leading many fans to wonder if they will make similar moves.
But it may be more complicated than that. Extensions are a two-way street. There needs to be matching interest from both the team and the player, for whom this is a personal decision, with all sorts of financial and familial factors at play.
Still, it’s worth asking which young Cardinals players are on this team for the long haul. Here’s a look at some, and whether they are logical extension candidates.
2B JJ Wetherholt
Age 23 | FA after 2031
Since his very first at-bat, the Cardinals rookie has looked like he has been playing in the Majors for a decade already, and he keeps getting better. Everything the Cardinals do over the next half-decade, they’ll want Wetherholt to be a part of it.
But an extension is nevertheless not so simple. The main issue with Wetherholt is that he’ll turn 24 in September, which, obviously, is not old, but for a rookie, it kind of is. The Cardinals have Wetherholt under team control through the 2031 season, when he will turn 29 right before the postseason on Sept. 10, which means if they extended him, they’d be buying the first few years of his 30s -- always a risk for a middle infielder.
If Wetherholt looks like a superstar, then you have to justify paying superstar money for those extra years at the beginning of his 30s, again, as a middle infielder. Does it make sense for the Cardinals to just enjoy these next six years -- when they will be expecting to compete annually -- and see how it plays out? As always: It depends on the terms. If the Cardinals can tack on a couple of years of control at what they see as a reasonable price, they may sign up for that.
RF Jordan Walker
Age 23 | FA after 2029
Walker is only four months older than Wetherholt -- he’ll turn 24 on May 22 -- but is in a far different position. The reason is that while Wetherholt has played fewer than 40 games in the Majors, this is already Walker’s fourth season in St. Louis, even as he is just now breaking out.
Walker was, quite famously, on the Opening Day roster to start 2023. That means he is due to hit free agency after the 2029 season, two full years before Wetherholt. That’s sooner than you’d like, particularly because Walker is, after three very rough seasons, approaching the star status the Cardinals (and most of baseball) have imagined him achieving. It would be frustrating for the Cardinals to suffer through the first three years of struggle and have Walker leave after 2029 to become the lineup centerpiece somewhere else. Of course, that’s still three full seasons away, after this one, so it’s not an urgent concern.
Could the Cardinals buy out those first few years of free agency, maybe, like, a six-year deal starting next year that still allows him to hit the market (if he wants) at 30? There would seem to be a deal to be made here.
C/DH Iván Herrera
Age 25 | FA after 2029
Herrera is a good bit older than both Wetherholt and Walker -- he turns 26 on June 1 -- but he is on the same schedule as Walker and will be first-time arbitration eligible before next season. He continues to rake when healthy (a 135 OPS+ since 2024, entering play on Thursday), with seemingly more steps forward to come, but the question with Herrera may be whether or not he remains a part-time catcher.
If he switches to DH full-time -- or perhaps moves to first base -- that would lower his value, relatively, from what it would be if he is still a catcher. It may behoove the Cardinals, who have all sorts of catchers making their way through the Minors behind him, to wait to find out before making a decision.
SS Masyn Winn
Age 24 | FA after 2029
Winn is two months older than Walker. And, like Walker (and Herrera), he has another three seasons to go after this one before he’s due to become a free agent. His defense at shortstop is obviously otherworldly. The question is whether his bat will settle in at around league average, where it has been over the past few years and which still makes him quite valuable. Or, can Winn progress beyond even that? A bit more offensive production could make him a down-ballot MVP candidate.
Any extension for Winn would seem to be capped by his lack of power; his value would collapse if he ever had to play anywhere other than short. That he has struggled with injuries is a factor as well; you wonder if the Cardinals wait to see how much the bat progresses before making any big decisions.
Minor Leaguers
How about a prospect who hasn’t even reached the Majors yet? That is, after all, what the Mariners did with Emerson. The most likely candidate here is MLB Pipeline No. 30 overall prospect Rainiel Rodriguez (Cards' No. 2), a catcher who has light-tower power and who, remarkably, only turned 19 in January. He has a .978 OPS at High-A Peoria; if he can handle the next promotion, he could be in line.
But otherwise? Unless the Cardinals just decide they want to make it clear that they will do whatever it takes to make sure, say, Wetherholt is still a Cardinal a decade from now -- and that is possible -- you do wonder if the Cardinals may be holding off on extensions for this year.
Which means: We can maybe just enjoy this team right now. Live in the present! It’s good for the soul.