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.

The club has clairty on future payroll commitments

As is the case with every offseason, the Cardinals have to weigh the cost of acquiring talent against current and future payroll commitments, something that becomes easier to do when you know what your long-term outlook is. If the Cardinals can lock up Walker long-term early, this would help them a ton in the team-building process.

At the moment, the Cardinals only have a few long-term deals on their roster. Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras are locked up through 2028 and 2029 respectively, Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O'Neill under locked up through 2025, while Steven Matz, Giovanny Gallegos, Tommy Edman, and Ryan Helsley are under contract through 2026. The only players out of that mix that are not facing arbitration are Contreras, Arenado, Goldschmidt, Matz, and Gallegos, so the numbers on the other guys' contracts are subject to chance.

For this Cardinal front office, it will be easier for them to make difficult decisions on those core players if they know where they stand with Walker. Giving a long-term deal out to guys like O'Neill, Hesley, or Edman, or even resigning Goldschmidt, are hard to plan for if a looming mega-deal for Walker is present.

Outside of resigning their own talent, the Cardinals will likely need to spend on rotation and possibly bullpen pieces in the next few seasons, which again, they will need to plan for how that impacts the rest of their roster.

Even if the Cardinals give Walker a significant extension now, they aren't "wasting" the years when they could have had him on a cheap deal. Here's a list of players who will be playing on bargain contracts over the next 3-8 years: Masyn Winn, Tink Hence, Gordon Graceffo, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, Dylan Carlson, Lars Nootbaar, Moises Gomez, Alec Burleson, Juan Yepez, and so many more. The Cardinals have the internal depth to afford to hand out big extensions, and they should take advantage of that with Walker.

There's one more reason I think the Cardinals should offer such an extension to Walker, and it may be the most important reason of all.

Jordan Walker has the character and personality to handle a long-term commitment so early

Yes, there are some cases where these mega-deals to young players go sideways. While I am confident that Tatis Jr. will remain a star in the league, his actions over the last few seasons have brought into question his mega-extension for many. But when you look at the list of players who got really big extensions at such a young age, you can see a correlation between the success of the deal and something beyond their talent on the field: their character.

By all accounts, no matter who you talk to within the Cardinals organization or those who have gotten to cover Walker, the 20-year-old is wise beyond his years and has the maturity needed to succeed in today's game. Walker is one of the last people you'd ever expect to get into any kind of trouble. He's the kind of player who just loves to play baseball and is going to work day in and day out to be the best he can be, no matter what his contract status is.

Something to note with him getting a deal so early too. This isn't a case of a 31-year-old getting a ten-year mega deal and having to worry about his motivation when he hits his late 30s. Say Walker gets even an 8-year deal, he'd be in line for another massive deal after this contract if he continues to work hard and produces during these years. Having that next carrot on the stick is helpful motivation for any player, even one like Walker who really doesn't need it.

If I were in the front office, I'd love to get Walker locked up sooner rather than later. If that's midseason or after the 2023 campaign, that makes sense too. Walker is on the cusp of stardom, and I'd get out ahead of any contracts before that number rises significantly.