Drake Baldwin is the latest young player to rise to MLB with the Atlanta Braves.

If the Braves follow their trends, there’s a contract coming soon for Baldwin.

They’ve made it a habit of signing their rising stars to long-term deals. It works out in some ways for both sides of a negotiation.

The player gets long-term security. And if the player turns into a star, the Braves have gotten a value relative to what he would’ve gotten paid otherwise.

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That brings Baldwin to the stage.

In a new MLB.com article, Mark Feinsand writes that Baldwin is a major candidate to get a new deal sooner rather than later.

“No club has had more success locking up its young talent than the Braves, who have signed at least a half-dozen players to extensions in recent years,” Feinsand writes. “Baldwin, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, is under control for five more years and won’t even be arbitration-eligible for two more seasons, but if Atlanta believes he’s the long-term answer behind the plate, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Braves try to extend him to buy out his arbitration years and possibly a free-agent year or two.”

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There’s not a ton of downside here for Atlanta. Baldwin plays a premium defensive position and can hit. 

Could he totally fade away before a deal ended? Maybe. But that certainly doesn’t seem likely.

The Braves don’t have to rush, given that they have Baldwin under his entry-level contract for another five years.

But hey, getting a deal done is what the Braves do, so that might happen soon.

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