The Cardinals just gave the Reds a fresh reminder of how this game is played.
St. Louis reportedly reached an eight-year, $112.5 million extension with rookie infielder JJ Wetherholt, a deal that, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, includes no club or player options and can climb to $132 million through escalators. It’s the kind of move that plants a flag: this is our young core, and we’re paying to keep it.
That matters in Cincinnati, where the Reds have taken a very different approach with their own promising talent. While Wetherholt is now locked in, the Reds have not handed out a long-term deal to any of their young stars, including Sal Stewart, who is battling Wetherholt for NL Rookie of the Year honors.
That race is shaping up to be one of the league’s most intriguing. Most observers believe the 2026 NL Rookie of the Year will end up going to either Stewart or Wetherholt, and both players have already outperformed expectations in their first season in the majors.
If they keep this up, they could be part of a fierce inter-division rivalry for years. But that only happens if Cincinnati starts acting like the rest of the division.
The Cardinals are not alone here. The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Konnor Griffin to an eight-year extension earlier this season.
The Chicago Cubs and Pete Crow-Armstrong agreed to a six-year, $115 million deal in March. The Milwaukee Brewers have made a habit of extending their young players before they even reach the majors.
The Reds, meanwhile, let Elly De La Cruz get to the point where he has already outperformed any contract Cincinnati would realistically offer him. The team reportedly tried to make De La Cruz the highest-paid player in franchise history, offering more than the 10-year, $225 million extension Joey Votto signed in 2012, but De La Cruz passed, knowing he could likely do far better on the open market.
That’s the cautionary tale hanging over all of this. If the Reds had moved aggressively after De La Cruz’s rookie year, he might already be under contract. If they don’t reach long-term agreements with Stewart or newly-minted ace Chase Burns, those players could be out the door once their arbitration clocks run out.
For now, Cincinnati appears to be waiting on the next collective bargaining agreement. If MLB and the Players Association eventually install a salary cap and floor, small-market clubs like the Reds would be pushed to spend more on their players. At that point, Stewart, Burns and others might finally get the kind of payday their performance has earned.
In Other News...
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The timing, though, comes with a fresh hit to the lineup. Matt McLain is headed to the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain, leaving the Reds to reshuffle again as they try to keep their infield intact heading into the stretch before the All-Star break. Cincinnati has been juggling personnel around third base already, and now it will have to do so while waiting for McLain to get healthy. [Read more 🡒]
Franconas Latest Reds Lineup Gamble Says Plenty About Center Field
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The choice also underscores how thin the alternatives have become. Francona is weighing what he can get from Noelvi Marte and where TJ Friedl fits against left-handed pitching, and the answer for this game is a lineup gamble that puts a familiar bat in an unfamiliar place while the Reds keep searching for a more permanent solution. [Read more 🡒]
Reds Still Havent Solved Their Matt McLain Problem
The Reds are heading into the second half with a familiar infield question still hanging over them at second base, where Matt McLain and Edwin Arroyo have been splitting time instead of settling into a clean answer. McLain opened the year as the everyday option and has given Cincinnati steady defense even as the offense has lagged, while Arroyo has flashed enough glove to stay in the conversation without making the job his own.
McLains role has grown even murkier because the Reds have also been using him in center field at times, a reflection of both injuries and uneven production elsewhere on the roster. Arroyo, meanwhile, has not been consistent enough to force a full-time switch, leaving Cincinnati to keep piecing together the position while hoping one of its two options eventually separates from the other. [Read more 🡒]