Latest nine-figure extension makes the Orioles' decision to sign Samuel Basallo when they did look even better

Yesterday, it was announced that the St Louis Cardinals were extending their star rookie second baseman JJ Wetherholt to an eight-year extension worth $112.5 million, with bonuses that can push the deal up to $132 million. Whenever a young star agrees to one of these contracts, it's a great day for everyone involved. Wetherholt guarantees himself generational wealth; the Cardinals can now plan to build around an excellent middle infielder for the next eight and a half years, and Cardinals fans can now buy a #26 Wetherholt jersey with the confidence that he'll be around for a long time.

Yesterday was also a very good day for the Baltimore Orioles becuase with every extension that gets inked, the contract that they signed with Samuel Basallo ages better and better. Last fall, the Orioles signed catcher Samuel Basallo to an eight-year $67 million contract with a ninth-year team option that would add another $18 million to the deal. This deal keeps Basallo with the Orioles just as long as Wetherholt's keeps him with the Cardinals for possibly $45 million fewer over the next eight seasons.

Wetherholt isn't the only young star that's been extended in the last year. Earlier this season, Kevin McGonigle was extended with the Tigers for $150 million over eight years (starts next year). Konnor Griffin was extended for $140 million over the next nine years (starts this year) and, just a few weeks before Basallo signed his deal, the Red Sox signed Roman Anthony to an eight-year, $130 million deal (starts this year plus has a team option for 2034 worth $30 million).

Depending on whether some options are picked up, all of those contracts should end after the 2034 season. As long as all those players stay healthy, all of those contracts have the potential to be very team-friendly deals, but looking at what those other teams will be paying their young stars compared to what the Orioles will be paying Samuel Basallo, it looks great for the Orioles.

So how did the Orioles do it, and how can they do it again?

There were a few key factors in play. One was that Basallo was open to extending. Many of the Orioles' other young stars are represented by Scott Boras, who is famous for being extremely against this kind of pre-arb extensions. Boras pushes his clients to free agency and gets them paid what they're worth. He has an incredible track record of success, so it's no surprise that guys like Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, and Jackson Holliday haven't entertained any extension offers. Basallo, on the other hand, was willing to negotiate; that's step one.

Another thing that helped the Basallo contract get done was that the Orioles offered it before Basallo proved himself at the big league level. At the time Basallo signed his deal, he had five major league games under his belt. If the Orioles had wanted to wait just one more year to see what Basallo looked like after more playing time and then tried to sign Basallo now that he's a bonafied major league slugger, it would have been a lot more expensive. Part of why the Wetherholt, Anthony, and McGonigle contracts were for so much is becuase they signed after at least a partial season of all-star-level play.

Another reason that's a little less fun to talk about is that Basallo's financial situation was different than these other players. Griffin and Wetherholt both had signing bonuses worth over $6 million in 2024. Anthony and McGonigle's bonuses were both worth more than $2.5 million in the 2022 and 2023 drafts. Basallo signed for $1.3 million back in 2021. $1.3 million is not nothing, but $1.3 million from four years ago that probably got divided up by academy fees and other expenses rather quickly, and it's a much weaker negotiating position than a guy who got a $6.5 million signing bonus last year; it just is. It's kind of icky to think about, but Basallo will likely make $85 million on this contract and then hit free agency at 29 and cash out big time. His story will have a happy ending.

What's not icky to think about is how fun it will be to watch Samuel Basallo for the next nine years. Basallo plays with an infectious joy. He enjoys every home run; his two-handed bat chuck and ear-to-ear grin after hitting the game-winning homer last night was a treat. Even in this difficult season, Basallo has been a bright spot for Orioles fans to latch onto.

It'll be interesting to see how all of these contract extensions for young stars age. It's possible that one or two of the nine Basallo stars might out-WAR him over the next 8-9 years, but as far as value goes, nobody is beating the Basallo contract.

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