Reds can't afford to miss the lesson behind JJ Wetherholt's extension with Cardinals

The Cincinnati Reds' biggest division rival, the St. Louis Cardinals, just signed one of their best young players to a massive contract extension. Rookie infielder JJ Wetherholt and the Cardinals reportedly agreed to an eight-year, $112.5 million deal.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, there are no club or player options contained within the deal, and the escalators allow the contract to max out at $132 million. This has the potential to be a tremendous deal for both Wetherholt and the Cardinals.

The Reds, however, appear to be content to sit on their hands and not offer a long-term deal to any of their young stars. This includes the one player who's jockeying with Wetherholt for NL Rookie of the Year honors — Sal Stewart.

Most observers believe the 2026 NL Rookie of the Year will be awarded to one of Stewart or Wetherholt. Both players have exceeded expectations during their first year in the big leagues, and could be part of a fierce, inter-division rivalry for years to come. But only if the Reds follow the Cardinals — and every other team in the division — and lock up their young talent before they become too expensive to retain.

Cardinals sign JJ Wetherholt while Reds continue to drag their feet

The Cardinals now have Wetherholt under contract. The Pittsburgh Pirates signed their young stud, Konnor Griffin, to an eight-year extension earlier this season. Pete Crow-Armstrong and the Chicago Cubs agreed to a six-year, $115 million deal back in March. And the Milwaukee Brewers have made a habit of signing their young talent to lucrative extensions before they even debut in the big leagues.

Cincinnati, meanwhile, has allowed Elly De La Cruz to outperform any contract the Reds would ever think to offer him. The Reds reportedly attempted to make De La Cruz the highest-paid player in team history — offering him more than the 10-year, $225 million extension Joey Votto signed in 2012 — but the shortstop declined knowing he could probably make double (or triple) that on the open market.

If the Reds had thrown big-time money at De La Cruz after his rookie year, he might be under contract right now. As it stands, if they fail to come to a long-term agreement with Stewart or newly-minted ace Chase Burns, both players could be gone once their arbitration clock expires.

It's simply maddening at this point that Cincinnati has failed to lock up any of their young stars. And it's especially frustrating for Reds fans to watch every other organization in the NL Central actually make a move to keep their young talent around for the long haul.

In all likelihood, the Reds are waiting for the impending collective bargaining agreement to be settled. If MLB and the Player's Association implement a salary cap and floor, small-market teams like Cincinnati will be forced to pay their players more money, and at the point, Stewart, Burns, and others might finally be handsomely rewarded for their efforts.

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