JJ Wetherholt's proposed extension price would be a win-win for Cardinals

To say that JJ Wetherholt is living up to expectations in his rookie season with the St. Louis Cardinals would be a massive understatement. He's already joined some legendary franchise company in the power department, and his 1.5 fWAR entering May ranks 14th in all of baseball. The only rookie above him, at 1.6 fWAR, is Detroit Tigers sensation Kevin McGonigle.

So, yeah, it's safe to say the Redbirds have a special talent on their hands. The kind of talent that deserves to stay in St. Louis for the majority of their career.

Can the Cardinals bring such a reality to fruition in 2026? There's been a huge surge of top prospects signing massive, long-term deals before or immediately after their MLB debuts this year. McGonigle himself set the bar moving forward, with an eight-year, $150 million extension.

Wetherholt exists in a similar class of prospect as McGonigle, and they've both had prolific starts to their respective MLB careers. Hence, it's no surprise that The Athletic pegs the Cardinals' second baseman as worthy of a very similar contract; the only question is if the Redbirds will be willing to commit so much money to a 23-year-old with barely 30 games of MLB experience.

JJ Wetherholt deserves to be next in long line of MLB top propsects receiving extensions

Wetherholt was, generally speaking, considered the third-best prospect in baseball entering the 2026 season. He sat behind only McGonigle and Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin on most lists, which puts him in some pretty elite company as far as rookies go.

Like McGonigle, Griffin has signed a groundbreaking extension of his own, covering nine seasons at $140 million. The only real difference between their two deals is that Griffin's includes his rookie season and comes in at $10 million less total; both deals run through the 2034 campaign.

The Athletic's proposal of eight years and $135 million for Wetherholt perfectly aligns with those contracts. It would start in 2027 and end in 2034, though the Cardinals would likely tack on a couple of expensive team options at the end just in case Wetherholt becomes a bona fide superstar.

Now, that's a lot of money to commit to someone who is already under team control for the next six years (including 2026). St. Louis can keep him around for much cheaper via pre-arb salaries and arbitration agreements, but they'd also lose out on his 2032-34 seasons, when Wetherholt will be firmly in his prime.

Is that trade-off worth it? His free agent years will be extremely expensive if he continues to evolve into a legitimate MVP candidate. Getting him under contract will make him less affordable now, though it'll keep him in town for longer (and will add cost certainty to the team's long-term books).

Of course, with the way he's been playing, this may be the cheapest that Wetherholt ever gets. It'd probably be a wise piece of business for the front office to keep him around for the next decade or so.

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