Cardinals' Paul DeJong: Reaches extension with St. Louis
The Cardinals finalized a contract extension with DeJong on Monday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, DeJong's extension is worth $26 million over six years.
The extension, which is the largest deal in history for any player with less than one year of MLB service time, buys out DeJong's arbitration years and keeps him in St. Louis through the 2023 season. Though he carried only a modest pedigree as a prospect after being drafted in the fourth round by the Cardinals in 2015, DeJong was highly impressive in his first taste of the big leagues last season, hitting .285 with 52 extra-base hits -- including 25 home runs -- across 443 plate appearances. He'll enter the 2018 campaign as the Cardinals' everyday shortstop.
