The St. Louis Cardinals and JJ Wetherholt have agreed to an eight-year, $112.5 million extension that buys out the rookie second baseman's first several years of free agency, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Friday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the club had not announced the extension.
The Cardinals picked Wetherholt seventh overall out of West Virginia two years ago in the first-year player draft, and he rocketed through their farm system. The 23-year-old made his major league debut on opening day and was hitting .267 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs and nine stolen bases going into Friday night's game against the Atlanta Braves.
The advanced metrics also have graded Wetherholt as one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball this season.
The emergence of Wetherholt in the middle of the St. Louis infield is a big reason the club has been one of the surprises of the first half of the season. The Cardinals were 48-44 and three games out of an NL wild-card spot heading into the weekend.
The deal is one of the first big signings for St. Louis since significant changes were made to the top of the organizational ladder.
Last September, Chaim Bloom took over as the Cardinals' president of baseball operations, replacing longtime general manager John Mozeliak. Then last month, Bill DeWitt III took over as chief executive officer, though Bill DeWitt Jr. has continued as its chairman and principal owner with a hand in baseball and business matters.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
