3 reasons why the Cardinals need to sign Jordan Walker to this extension right now

3 reasons why Jordan Walker should be offered an extension by the Cardinals like the one Corbin Carroll just signed

The St. Louis Cardinals entered Spring Training with hopes that Jordan Walker would make it difficult for them to send him to Triple-A Memphis to start the year. He has since blown away any expectations someone could have for him and has all but guaranteed a spot for himself on the Opening Day roster.

Like all top prospects looking to make a club's Opening Day roster, Walker's service time and potential manipulation of that has become a huge talking point amongst fans trying to speculate what the organization will do with him. If I were the Cardinals' front office, I'd end that entire discussion today like the Arizona Diamondbacks did with another consensual top prospect, Corbin Carroll.

Carroll, who most scouting outlets have as either the #1 or #2 prospect in all of baseball, has just 115 MLB plate appearances to his name after making his debut at the end of the 2022 season, just signed an eight-year, $111 million contract with the Diamondbacks that has a team option for a ninth year. While some may find a move like that to be extremely risky and unwise, it's a strategy many of the best front offices are taking these days.

Michael Harris II signed an eight-year, $72 million extension with the Braves after just 81 days of service time last season. Julio Rodriguez got a seven-year, $120 million deal with options that could make the deal as large as $470 million over ten more seasons. Maybe the most comparable is Luis Robert's extension with the White Sox, which ended up being a six-year, $50 million contract with two club options that could take it up to $88 million.

So why would the Cardinals entertain such a deal with Walker before Opening Day or shortly after? Here are some reasons why I think the Cardinals should pursue a Walker extension as soon as possible.