Cardinals president teases more deals to come after JJ Wetherholt extension

The Cardinals just sent shockwaves through the fanbase after signing star rookie JJ Wetherholt to an eight-year extension, and according to Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III, this "feels like one down, several more to go at some point."

For all of the financial uncertainty the Cardinals have faced in recent years, there has been so much speculation regarding how aggressive they'll be in terms of both extending young players and pursuing outside upgrades. And with the major question marks surrounding the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations, fans are rightfully anxious to see how the club will handle their finances moving forward.

But when asked about what Wetherholt's extension symbolizes for the organization long-term, DeWitt III said, unprompted, that there may be more extensions in the pipeline. Here is his full quote from today's presser:

"It's an important day for our long-term strategy of really building a core," DeWitt III said during Wetherholt's extension presser. "Obviously, we are seeing that out on the field every day, and JJ's one of the keys to that group, and locking him up for this long period of time feels like one down, and several more to go at some point. It's a nice organizational milestone, but it's really just the beginning. It shows hopefully our fans that we are committed to this process, and I think committed to playing it out in all of the different ways this process has to be committed to. One of those is committing to some of your players long-term, so I think that is a big milestone in that rebuilding effort."

Cardinals sound committed to extending more of their young core

I find it especially notable that DeWitt III made that comment without being asked directly. No, that does not guarantee extensions, but it does sound like the Cardinals not only hope to see more come to fruition, but they are very much planning for that to be the case.

Jordan Walker, who has had an incredible season this year, earning his first career All-Star nod after huge struggles over his last two seasons, seems like a prime candidate to be inked to a long-term deal by St. Louis. He has superstar upside that he has displayed all season long. Walker is on pace for almost 40 home runs this year, and that kind of power needs to be locked in long-term.

Ivan Herrera, who was just named to the National League All-Star team, and Alec Burleson, who won his first career Silver Slugger last year, but would intriguing options as well with their offensive production. Masyn Winn and his incredible defense at shortstop certainly earns him some looks as well.

The Cardinals could even explore deals with prospects, with names like Rainiel Rodriguez and Joshua Baez being high-upside position players who could warrant their own extensions before making it to the Major Leagues.

I'll be curious to see where St. Louis goes here, but Cardinals ownership sounds invested in making sure they are able to build a sustainable winner once again.

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