4 players the St. Louis Cardinals need to extend soon

The Cardinals would be wise to extend these four players as soon as possible

There is nothing more stratifying than watching your own club's players succeed and blossom into impact players. The St. Louis Cardinals are a club that has multiple of these players on their Major League roster.

Whenever players, especially early in their career, begin to become legit players in this league, there becomes chatter about what the long-term future of that player could look like for their team. One team that has begun to set the bar for retaining their own talent is the Atlanta Braves. They've got guys like Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, Sean Murphy, Matt Olsen, Michael Harris II, and Austin Riley locked up on long-term contracts. Each of those players was able to get long-term security for themselves financially, while the Braves were able to get cost certainty for the next decade and get their own talent on cheaper contracts.

The Cardinals have found mixed results with these kinds of extensions over the last decade. Matt Carpenter's first extension was a brilliant move for the club, while his second extension was horrible for their payroll. Paul DeJong's contract has mostly been a dud, even with his resurgence this year. Carlos Martinez's contract made sense at the time, and he performed for parts of it, but eventually fell from grace due to a multitude of injuries.

When these contracts are given to the right players though, they can really benefit the organization long-term and open up flexibility for championship-level moves in the future. Here are four players the Cardinals would be wise to lock up as soon as possible to maximize this window they are in.

Nolan Gorman

I mean, who wouldn't pay the man right now?

As of May 20th, Nolan Gorman ranks 2nd in all of baseball in slugging percentage (.618), 4th in OPS (1.000), 5th in RBI (36), and 6th in home runs (12), all while showing major improvement in areas of weakness and looking like a true slugger at the plate.

Strikeouts were a huge issue for Gorman in 2022, but he's seen his strikeout percentage drop from 32.9% to 24.2% this season while his walk rate has risen almost four points to 12.4%. He got beat on high fastballs constantly last season, yet has found a way to do damage against those and the breaking balls he loves to mash.

His defense has improved this year as well. While he'll likely never be a top-end defender at second base, he's begun to minimize his mistakes at the position while adding some highlight reel plays to his repertoire as well.

Left-handed bats like Gorman's don't come around very often and have the ability to transform a lineup, and the Cardinals would be wise to lock him down for a very long time. At just 23 years old, it's crazy to think about the kind of hitter Gorman could be in his prime, and the Cardinals' are going to want to make sure his prime years are spent in St. Louis.

Lars Nootbaar

One of the Cardinals' biggest issues in recent years has been finding consistent production from their outfielders. It feels like every season, there has been almost a complete overhaul, or reset of expectations, from what their outfield can be. Lars Nootbaar has the ability to provide certainty and consistency to their outfield for years to come.

Nootbaar has followed up a breakout finish to the 2022 season and offsesaon full of hype surrounding him with a very, very good season so far. In 31 games, Nootbaar is slashing .283/.413/.407 with a 134 wRC+ and 3 home runes while playing great defense in right field and center field for the Cardinals. He is settling in as the Cardinals' primary leadoff hitter, giving their lineup an elite table setter night in and night out.

Nootbaar still had room to further improve as a player too, meaning you're not just investing in a "finished product" but rather, a growing asset. Nootbaar's power seems to come in flashes right now, but if he can put that together more often, he'll be an on-base machine that consistently does damage when pitchers come into the zone against him.

Nootbaar is also a beloved player by the clubhouse, fanbase, and even internationally as well. He's good for the team to have on their side, and he's very good for the organization to market out for years to come. An extension allows the club to benefit from Nootbaar on and off the field in a big way.

Tommy Edman or Brendan Donovan

I love both Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan, but I feel like the club can likely only resign one of them long-term.

Assuming Nolan Gorman takes the role as the primary second baseman long-term, or even at least someone who plays there a lot, and Masyn Winn becomes the shortstop of the future here soon, it gets hard to find clear roles for both Edman and Donovan on the club, especially if they are both making more than contract renewal or arbitration money.

Both players provide the Cardinals with awesome defense at multiple positions and do so while bringing their own unique skill sets to the plate as well. Neither player is a superstar, but both are the essential "glue guys" that you need on your team to have success.

Personally, I think Brendan Donovan may be the better extension candidate while Edman may be an extremely valuable trade chip in the future. Again, this is assuming Winn pans out, but Edman is a few years closer to free agency than Donovan, likely requiring more dollars to extend him. Donovan also seems like a more natural fit for the true utility man role, while Edman thrives best in the middle infield. Lastly, I think Edman could really help shore up another area of their roster in a trade, which is valuable if they truly have this elite middle infield depth.

Extending either player would be great for the organization though, but I would prioritize the first three players on this list before any more here.