Cardinals Getting Aggressive to Lock Up JJ Wetherholt Long-Term

The St. Louis Cardinals have liked what they've seen out of young infielder JJ Wetherholt so far this season. So much so that it sounds like the Cardinals want to hand him a new deal sooner rather than later.

This has been a trend across Major League Baseball in recent years, and it's a good one. There have been young guys across the league landing long-term extensions shortly after making their big league debut — or even before in some cases. The Milwaukee Brewers are a team that has utilized the strategy well with Jackson Chourio and most recently infield prospect Cooper Pratt. Neither Chourio nor Pratt had made the big leagues before getting the extensions. The Boston Red Sox are another team that has used this strategy with guys like Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and even Garrett Crochet. All three had made the big leagues by the time the Red Sox gave them extensions, but Boston still made sure to hand them out early.

The Seattle Mariners gave No. 1 prospect Colt Emerson an eight-year, $95 million extension that can go all the way up to $130 million on Tuesday and he hasn't made the big leagues yet either. For Wetherholt, he has made the big leagues already and has already looked like a potential star in the making against the game's best. On the bright side, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported on Tuesday that the Cardinals are reportedly interested in a long-term extension already with Wetherholt.

The Cardinals phenom has been everything the team could've hoped for

Mar 29, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt (26) throws out Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Chandler Simpson (not pictured) during the seventh inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"The Pirates made a record offer for a minor leaguer to 19-year-old phenom Konnor Griffin, who’s off to a big start at Triple-A, and sources say the Cardinals are trying to extend multitalented infielder JJ Wetherholt in what looks like the year of the rookie," Heyman wrote. "If first impressions mean anything, this will be a big year for newcomers — rookies hit .309 with a .622 slugging percentage the first weekend, The Athletic reported — and teams are understandably trying to extend the best of the bunch."

At this point, the Cardinals absolutely should make a deal with Wetherholt. Five games is a very small sample size, but Wetherholt has been great. He's slashing .300/.348/.450 with one homer, four RBIs, one stolen base, two walks and four runs scored.

Look at the guys around the league, like Emerson, who have gotten big deals without stepping foot on a big league diamond. Wetherholt has. Emerson's deal should be the starting point and the longer St. Louis waits, the higher the cost will be.

Emerson hasn't made his big league debut yet and was a first-round pick in 2023. He's a bit younger than Wetherholt at 20 years old, but, again, he hasn't hit the big leagues yet. If the Cardinals want an early extension with Wetherholt, now Emerson's deal really looks like the starting point but St. Louis may need a bit more. What about an eight-year deal worth $100 million with a chance to go up to $140 million? It would be a bit more than Emerson's and arguably is perfectly fair in the context of all of the extensions being handed out to young guys at this point.