Rookie JJ Wetherholt, Cardinals agree to 8-year deal

Infielder JJ Wetherholt and the St. Louis Cardinals are in agreement on an eight-year, $112.5 million contract extension, sources told ESPN, locking up the National League Rookie of the Year favorite with one of the largest guarantees in franchise history.

The Cardinals announced the eight-year extension on Friday but didn’t reveal financial terms.

Wetherholt, the Cardinals’ first-round pick in 2024, blitzed through their farm system, made the Opening Day roster this season and has been one of the most productive players in baseball this season. The left-handed-hitting 23-year-old, who has spent most of his time at second base but also can play shortstop, ranks eighth among all position players in FanGraphs wins above replacement.

While Wetherholt and the Cardinals engaged in extension discussions during spring training, they were unable to strike a deal amid a deluge agreed to by other young middle infielders. Rookies Kevin McGonigle, Konnor Griffin, Colt Emerson and Cooper Pratt, all shortstops, signed extensions, offering a pathway for Wetherholt to follow.

Because Wetherholt went to college, unlike his four contemporaries, he will not reach free agency until he’s 32 years old. Like with Detroit’s McGonigle deal (eight years, $150 million, free agent at 30) and Pittsburgh’s Griffin pact (nine years, $140 million, free agent at 28), there are no club options in Wetherholt’s contract, which will begin in 2027, run through 2034 and contains performance bonuses that can increase the total value to $132 million. Emerson’s eight-year, $95 million guarantee with Seattle has one club option and Pratt’s eight-year, $50.75 million agreement gives Milwaukee two options.

The signing of Wetherholt is the latest sign that St. Louis, which has pulled back significantly on payroll in recent seasons, is prepared to ramp up spending amid a resurgence that has seen them spend most of the season in position to secure a postseason berth. Though the emergence of outfielder Jordan Walker has been the most pleasant surprise, Wetherholt’s all-around excellence — a .267/.362/.411 line, Gold Glove-caliber defense at second and elite baserunning skills on top of that — has delivered the Cardinals perhaps their first true homegrown star since Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina.

Wetherholt’s deal is similar in term and dollars to the seven-year, $100 million contract Pujols signed in 2004. The Cardinals can only hope it shakes out similarly with Wetherholt, who was considered by Cleveland with the No. 1 choice in the 2024 draft but wound up slipping to the Cardinals, who happily plucked him with the seventh overall pick.

Following three standout seasons at West Virginia, Wetherholt signed for $6.9 million with the Cardinals, who were in the midst of one of their worst stretches in decades. What was thought to be a rebuilding season has turned into something that at the very least has captivated a fanbase unaccustomed to losing.

With the extension, Wetherholt becomes the first player officially under contract by the Cardinals for the 2027 season, whose payroll for next season before Wetherholt’s deal stood at $13 million — money sent to Boston to cover Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras‘ contracts.