Over the last few years, St. Louis Cardinals fans have clamored for the front office to extend some of the young core it has developed. While it would have been a mistake to lock up someone like Jordan Walker or Lars Nootbaar to this point, the Cardinals missed the boat on a great Brendan Donovan extension, and players like Masyn Winn and Ivan Herrera are only getting more expensive as the years go on.
While the Athletics aren't known for showing anyone how to spend money, in this case, they did make the kind of financial commitment that the Cardinals have been allergic to in recent years.