Cardinals, rookie 2B JJ Wetherholt reportedly in agreement on 8-year, $112.5 million extension
The St. Louis Cardinals and rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt are in agreement on an eight-year, $112.5 million extension, according tomultiple reports Friday
The deal can max out at $132 million and doesn’t include options, per the New York Post’s Heyman and The Athletic’s Katie Woo, the latter of whom reported that Wetherholt’s contract will mark the Cardinals’ largest extension for a pre-arbitration player since they inked Albert Pujols to a seven-year, $100 million deal in 2004. That investment came to fruition, to put it simply. Pujols is destined for the Baseball Hall of Fame and is one of four MLB players all-time with at least 700 home runs.
Wetherholt has 13 dingers in his first go-around with the Cardinals. They drafted him with the seventh overall pick two years ago out of West Virginia. The Baltimore-born Wetherholt made his major-league debut on Opening Day. Still only 23, he’s currently slashing .267/.362/.411 with 36 RBI and nine stolen bases to go along with that blossoming homer count.
This story is being updated.
