The St. Louis Cardinals and shortstop Paul DeJong agreed to a six-year extension worth $26 million on Monday, shattering the previous record for the highest guarantee made to a player with less than a full year of service time, per MLB Trade Rumors. The deal includes two options that could push its overall value north of $50 million.
The 24-year-old DeJong finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2017 by hitting .285/.325/.532 with 25 home runs across 443 plate appearances. Those marks are even more impressive when one considers they came after just a 48-game stint in Triple-A.
DeJong was a walk on at Illinois State and was drafted 131st overall byt the Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2015 baseball draft.
He'll turn 25 in August.