We Got Next: MLB Players Who Have Hit “Extend Him Now” Territory

We’re coming off the week where the word “deadline” now officially means nothing anymore!

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed upon a deal that will likely make him a Blue Jay for life after the “deadline” for negotiations that was self-imposed passed, and the Jays got their man at 14 years and $500 million. While we’ve seen Vladdy put up a season that was next best only to a guy named Shohei Ohtani in the MVP race, $500 million was widely seen as a bit of an overpay for his market; the consensus has been that had they signed him early rather than wait for a holdout a la Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys, even with the Canadian premium the Jays often pay, they could have locked him up for less.

We’re in a golden age of talent that arrives from the get-go and just looks READY, and the youth movement in baseball has arguably never been brighter. Teams have begun to become aware of that and have begun to lock up their guys at bargain, long-term deals that are both great security blankets for the players still developing and the fans, in that they build something with a young core early.

Some of the most notable deals have been:

• Jackson Chourio – 8 years, $82 million signed at 19
• Corbin Carroll – 8 years, $111 million signed at 22
• Jackson Merrill – 9 years, $135 million signed at 21
• Kristian Campbell – 8 years, $60 million signed at 22

The extensions used early on in the Atlanta Braves’ core model are booming; while betting on youth is a risk, they’re getting ahead of the curve early, and it’s paying off tremendously.

Some teams have ALREADY missed the curve as their young guys will already demand superstar status money. Paul Skenes, Rookie of the Year and All-Star Game starter and bona fide future Cy Young winner? Pittsburgh, notorious for NOT paying anyone, is not getting a “we drafted you” discount anymore. Elly De La Cruz and his alien talent are getting paid superstar money. Showing belief in your talent early has become the name of the game.

That being said, let’s take a look at some of the next position players that could be in line for a major extension from what we’ve seen so far.

From what we can project so far, it looks as if they could be in line for a major payday that could only get more expensive, and it’s worth investing in what they could become.

Jacob Wilson // Sacramento/Las Vegas/THE A’s SS

For a team that literally doesn’t have an officially affiliated location as of right now, it’s been important for the A’s to establish their future early to get everyone on board. It started this offseason when they extended both Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker and signed Luis Severino; there’s a core that’s slowly but surely building there.

Their “jersey guy” that fans will gravitate towards this season has been the man who debuted last year, rookie Jacob Wilson. This is prime “we need to get ahead of this early” territory for the man they selected 6th overall in 2023, and is the son of former Silver Slugger, Jack Wilson.

Jacob just looks like he has the “it” factor already at just 23; he’s been the ultimate all-contact, throwback guy that only swung and missed at just 7 out of 82 times, had a 15-game hit streak, and has electric speed. In a new era of baseball where speed and base-running has been king, Wilson looks like their guy, and fans will gravitate toward that electricity.

Wyatt Langford // Texas Rangers

We already saw it last year when Langford was the AL Rookie of the Year favorite coming out of Florida; Langford is one of the purest power-hitters in the game for his size and age, despite the bad injury luck so far, but when he’s been available, he’s been the real deal. It took him a while to get going with the power in 2024 with his 16 homers in 134 games, but they already showed belief in him by adding him to the Opening Day roster immediately to take his lumps as a rookie. His best month was his last month by far, and he already hit 4 homers before hitting the IL with an oblique strain again this year.

The reality is that when healthy, this guy has shown flashes of the same 5-tool skillset we once saw in Mike Trout (no one can touch Trout’s rookie season, but the flashes of that play style are there). As the 24-year-old was carrying the offense to start the year, it’s in the best interest for Texas to lock up their guy in the outfield for a long time, while his value may only be going up when he returns.

Ivan Herrera // St. Louis Cardinals 

The Cardinals’ great Yadi retired after being the battery for over a decade of successful pitching staffs and competent organizations for what’s deemed as the city hailing the “greatest fans in baseball.” St. Louis pivoted by signing Willson Contreras to attempt to take the baton from the future Hall of Famer, but Contreras has faired to be much more of a slugger who can leave it all out at the plate and has since been moved to the first base and DH role after the Cardinals have floundered for their identity.

In steps Ivan Herrera this year. While he’s been an offensive-based catcher like Contreras as well, with his defense not exactly rating out positively, he’s 24, and there would be no better way to pivot from the Yadi Era to transition to another young superstar behind the plate. Instead of trying to get another Yadi, it’s like when you go from a hard-nosed coach to a “player’s coach” (or immediately getting a sports car after owning a minivan in a divorce!) Before going on the IL, Herrera already had a game this season with 3 homers and 6 RBI, becoming the first Cardinal in franchise history to do so, and the 25-year-old was slugging 1.048. It’s looking like offensive catchers like JT Realmuto, William Contreras, or Adley Rutschman could be the face of the league; the Cardinals need to lock up their guy.

Pete Crow-Armstrong // Chicago Cubs

PHOTO: Denis Poroy/Imagn Images

Ever since he was the crown jewel prospect of the Javy Baez trade to officially be the nail in the coffin of the Cubs’ World Series era, Pete Crow-Armstrong has been known as the prospect with speed like a bull in a chinashop that flies through the outfield and is a fiend on the basepaths.

The ultra-confident 23-year-old who has had blue and blue-starred hair struggled when coming up full-time, got sent down to the Triple-A, and had a massive uptick in contact, which is all the guy with 99th percentile sprint speed needs to make a name for himself.

The same upward trajectory happened just this past week, when the California native reportedly turned down a Kristian Campbell-esque extension before being the first player ever to hit two home runs and a triple at Dodger Stadium.

This Cubs team has led in run differential and still has left the most runners in scoring position- that means the best offense in the league could only get potentially even better if they capitalize! Locking up an outfield of PCA, Seiya, and then moving on to Kyle Tucker could usher in the new big market Cubs that baseball and Chicago needs. Pete may have turned down the Campbell deal, but coming to a compromised deal as early as possible is essential.

Junior Caminero // Tampa Rays

It is contrary to the Rays’ nature to lock up and pay a franchise player. They once had THE man in Evan Longoria, a 6-year, $100 million deal way back when the dinosaurs roamed Earth. Still, they’ve been the team to maximize low-end contracts and trade them for prospects they can develop because the Rays are smarter at evaluating talent than we are. In the new era of baseball, they’ve given out one major deal, and it was to Wander Franco, who should never play baseball again.

No Rays fan (AKA Dick Vitale) will ever feel comfortable purchasing a jersey ever again with this trajectory and the current minor league stadium displacement; some of the major names they’ve parted ways with, Randy Arozarena, Tyler Glasnow, or Blake Snell have made comments about the tragic nature of the way they operate. All of those should be “jersey” guys. 

The Rays need to atone for their past mistakes and establish an identity by going all-in on called-up Junior Caminero, who can bring life and personality to the team going forward during this era of transition. Caminero is a swing-happy player who plays with flair and can hit the ball as far as anybody, and dominated the Dominican Winter League at just 21. His exit velocity watching him hit the ball as far as he does is game-changing, and he’ll likely go through a developing roller coaster of hot streaks and valleys, but thus far, he’s still batting just below .300 and has kept the Rays afloat.

Do what’s out of your nature for once, Tampa.

No, you don’t have a stadium, but you can still play winning baseball and atone by making Caminero the player that leads you towards wherever you play baseball next.

PHOTO: Denis Poroy/Imagn Images