Ah yes, the signs of spring. Flowers blooming, temperatures rising and baseball players signing contract extensions.
During the 2025 calendar year, there were 14 extensions of at least five years signed by players under 30 years old. Those feel like appropriate enough parameters to define the typical “young player signs extension” headline. Of those 14, 10 were agreed upon within a month of Opening Day. That’s no coincidence. Things have been slightly slower this season, but we’ve seen recent agreements involving Jesús Luzardo, Nico Hoerner, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Shane Baz, Cristopher Sánchez, Cooper Pratt and Colt Emerson.
“It’s a little bit of tradition,” Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Saturday during Baz’s extension news conference, when asked why March and April tend to bring so many contracts. “Spring training is, maybe, the peak time to have those discussions. Front offices tend to be really, really busy from November all the way into February. And [spring training] is a period of time where you can sort of take a breath, look at your team and maybe lean into these conversations a little bit more.”
The calendar is about to flip to April, but extension season is far from over. Opening Day is most certainly not a deadline. History tells us that a handful of additional players are likely to reach deals at some point in the next month. So let’s dig through the pile of young talent, sorting them into extension-candidate tiers, to see which names could be next.
Pending free agents
Tarik Skubal (DET), Freddy Peralta (NYM), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (NYY), Trevor Rogers (BAL), Trent Grisham (NYY), Daulton Varsho (TOR), Kris Bubic (KC)
As the most accomplished player on this list, Skubal is also the likeliest to hit free agency. An extension for the two-time reigning Cy Young would probably have to start in the $400 million range. Grisham and Chisholm are also almost certain to test the market; the Yankees haven’t done an extension since the disastrous Aaron Hicks deal signed in February 2019. Varsho is a Scott Boras client, which makes an extension improbable (more on that in a moment).
Rogers and Bubic both play for clubs that have shown a willingness to extend pitchers. Baltimore just secured Baz for the next five years, while Kansas City inked a 3-year deal with young southpaw Cole Ragans last spring. Peralta, dealt to New York from Milwaukee over the winter, faced extension questions immediately upon his arrival in Queens. The righty has a history with Mets POBO David Stearns and assistant general manager Eduardo Brizuela from their time with the Brewers, but there’s definitely a chance Peralta wants to test the free-agent market.
Scott Boras clients
Jeremy Peña (HOU, free agent in 2028), MacKenzie Gore (TEX, 2028), Gunnar Henderson (BAL, 2029), Shea Langeliers (ATH, 2029), Elly De La Cruz (CIN, 2030), James Wood (WSH, 2031), Royce Lewis (MIN, 2029)
Boras, the game’s most notorious and influential agent, rarely, if ever, advises his players to sign extensions. There have been a handful of exceptions — Stephen Strasburg in 2016, Jose Altuve in 2018, Xander Bogaerts in 2019 — but for the most part, Boras Corp clients reach free agency.
That’s bad news for fans of those players’ teams, particularly those in smaller markets. It’s difficult to envision Henderson leaving money on the table to stay in Baltimore; the same is true for De La Cruz in Cincinnati. The Athletics have been über-aggressive recently with extensions, which could put a Langeliers deal on the table. And keep an eye on Wood, who grew up in the D.C. area and might want to stay close to home.
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How good is this player?
Adley Rutschman (BAL, 2028), CJ Abrams (WSH, 2029), Vinnie Pasquantino (KC, 2029), Jarren Duran (BOS, 2029), Oneil Cruz (PIT, 2029), Masyn Winn (STL, 2030)
It’s hard to extend a mystery box.
All of these players have flashed superstar potential, yes, but not one has finished in the top five of MVP voting, and only two — Rutschman in 2023 and Duran in 2024 — have finished in the top 10. This dynamic presents something of a double-edged sword. By extending such a player, the team involved could be buying low, getting in on the ground floor, or it could be locking itself into an albatross contract. These guys come with high risk and high reward.
It’s a thunderstorm of “ifs.” If Rutschman and Duran recapture their All-Star form and find more consistency. If Cruz finally capitalizes on his immense physical tools. If Winn takes a step forward offensively. If Abrams takes a step forward defensively. If Pasquantino ups his walk rate and pulls the ball in the air more. If, if, if.
Pitchers
Logan Gilbert (SEA, 2028), George Kirby (SEA, 2029), Hunter Brown (HOU, 2029), Paul Skenes (PIT, 2030), Bryan Woo (SEA, 2030), Edward Cabrera (CHC, 2029), Eury Pérez (MIA, 2030)
Pitchers present an equation all their own, as the injury risk associated with the position makes hurlers more volatile than hitters year over year. That means a disproportionate number of extensions involve hitters. Still, hurlers get long-term deals from time to time, including recent signees Sanchez, Luzardo and Baz.
Of the Seattle trio, Gilbert is probably the likeliest extension candidate, given his free agency timeline and track record of durability. The Cubs have done two extensions over the past week; is Cabrera next? Pérez probably has to deliver a stretch of health for Miami to feel comfortable committing significant money to him.
Skenes, as always, is his own conversation. It’s hard to see the Pirates coughing up the fortune it would require to keep the 23-year-old star in Pittsburgh for the long run. So far, Skenes has said all the right things about how he’s committed to the Steel City and how he wants to win there. But the cold, hard math says his days in Pittsburgh are relatively numbered.
Will they pay what it’s gonna take?
Riley Greene (DET, 2029), Zach Neto (LAA, 2030), Brice Turang (MIL, 2030), Junior Caminero (TB, 2031), Nick Kurtz (ATH, 2031), Wyatt Langford (TEX, 2030)
These are all sensational young players. Greene and Caminero were All-Stars last season. Turang and Kurtz got MVP votes. Neto and Langford both produced more than 5.0 bWAR. If not for their penny-pinched employers, this crew would all be great extension contenders.
The Tigers have done just one extension under POBO Scott Harris, a six-year, $31 million deal that bought out Colt Keith’s arbitration years. Anaheim hasn’t done one since 2021, when the Angels gave David Fletcher a five-year extension that turned out disastrously. Turang and Kurtz both play for extension-friendly franchises, but both might have already played themselves out of their employers’ price ranges. The Rangers have been operating frugally ever since they won it all in 2023, though Langford is a perfect candidate. So, too, is Caminero, whose agent has overseen landmark extensions for José Ramírez and Geraldo Perdomo.
Guys who just got here
Chase DeLauter (CLE), Kevin McGonigle (DET), JJ Wetherholt (STL), Marcelo Mayer (BOS), Drake Baldwin (ATL), Colson Montgomery (CWS), Luke Keaschall (MIN), Carson Benge (NYM)
These players either debuted in the past week or at some point last year. They won’t hit free agency until after the 2031 season. Time is on their side. Still, we always hear extension buzz around hot-shot rookies. And over the years, many of those rumors have turned into real dollars.
Baldwin, whose employers in Atlanta are perhaps the most extension-eager organization in baseball, has to be at the top of this list. Expect the chatter around Wetherholt and McGonigle to pick up as they continue to establish themselves as stars. Mayer has seen two Red Sox compatriots, Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell, get extensions over the past 365 days or so and could be next. Montgomery and Keaschall are both good options for their bad teams to build around, if they’re willing to spend the money. DeLauter’s lengthy injury history likely makes an extension complicated, though he has made a lot of noise in his short time in the majors.
Not even here yet
Konnor Griffin (PIT), Jesus Made (MIL), Leo De Vries (ATH)
Pre-debut extensions are rare, but they do happen from time to time, as Colt Emerson, Seattle’s shortstop of the future, reminded everyone this week. There were whispers about negotiations between Griffin and the Pirates during spring training, but nothing came to fruition. Made and De Vries are further behind on their debut timelines but could find themselves in the show this autumn with a strong summer.
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