The moment that Orioles fans have been waiting for has arrived: Finally, Mike Elias, for the first time since he took over as general manager in 2018, has signed a homegrown talent to an extension, giving the team a potential road map to longterm success.

Samuel Basallo and the Orioles are finalizing an eight-year contact extension worth $67 million, a source with direct knowledge told the Baltimore Banner. The deal includes a club option for 2034 and the value of the deal can increase to up to $88.5 million if he wins awards or hits benchmarks for playing time at catcher.

Basallo, the Orioles No. 1 prospect, is locked up through 2033 before he’s even played his fourth MLB game.

The long-waited move does bring about two major questions.

Will other young players follow suit?

Basallo is talented — and some think he has the potential to be better than the top prospects who have come before him — but if the Orioles are serious about locking up their talent, shouldn’t they be doing the same with Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and Colton Cowser?

Elias has approached at least Holliday and Henderson, and likely the others too, with extensions, offers that probably looked very similar to the one that Basallo is finalizing. Those players have, so far, opted to take the gamble and wait until later to sign long-term deals. If they continue playing like they are, they can ink more lucrative deals than the one Basallo agreed to, but they do take on the risk that an injury or poor play will hurt their value.

Basallo took the route that guarantees him earnings — money that may make a major difference for his family in the Dominican Republic — and he’ll make more now, in the early stages of his career, than his teammates. He’ll also become a free agent, at the latest, when he’s 30 years old, the same age Rutschman will be when he reaches free agency in two years, which will give Basallo the chance to cash out once again.

Holliday, Henderson, Rutschman, Westburg and Cowser all started their careers with more value just by being American. While Basallo received a then-franchise record bonus of $1.3 million for signing as an international free agent in 2021, all five received at least a million more as their signing bonuses when they were drafted.

Holliday, in particular, has the least reason to sign an extension — he made $8.9 million for being the No. 1 pick in 2022 and has generational money to support him. His father, Matt, made over $100 million in his career and has created a training center in their backyard in Oklahoma to support his sons’ careers. Basallo didn’t have the same luxury — he had to move away from his home at 14 to chase his dreams.

Now, the path to signing the rest of the core to an extension only gets more difficult.

Rutschman was expected to be the franchise catcher, but this deal could change things. His debut in 2022 ushered in a new era, but now, four years into his career, his price tag is going up — albeit not as high as it once would have been.

Cal Raleigh, who, like Rutschman, had two years of team control left after this season, signed a six-year, $105 million extension with the Mariners earlier this year. Right now, Rutschman likely wouldn’t touch that value — he has has struggled with injuries and performance at the plate — but any contract would still greatly exceed the one Basallo signed.

While locking up Basallo does show that the front office is willing to sign homegrown players to longterm deals, there is still no proof that the Orioles, whose general manager and owner have notably been very cautious of the risks that come with these agreements if the player doesn’t pan out, is willing to spend the kind of money necessary to keep Rutschman at this point in his career.

Which brings us to our next question.

What does this mean for next year’s lineup?

With Rutschman out now with a left oblique strain, potentially putting the rest of the season at risk, the Orioles are trialing Basallo as their everyday catcher, a low-stakes test run to see how he handles the multiple duties that come with the position. When Rutschman is healthy again, he and Basallo will be in the lineup every day — the Orioles are adamant that they want both of their bats available. It’s likely Rutschman will remain the starting catcher with Basallo moving between catcher, designated hitter and possibly first base.

While Basallo’s catching skills are thought to lag behind his elite bat, no catcher, not even Rutschman, was perfect when they got to the majors. The Orioles could use these next two seasons to have Basallo learn from Rutschman, then cut their ties with the latter and carry on with Basallo at a cheaper price.

While Rutschman has been the face of the rebuild, it’s also not inconceivable that Elias would explore a trade; despite his struggles, he’s good enough to bring in the caliber of pitching the Orioles should be seeking this offseason. That’s far from an ideal scenario, though. Basallo’s skills aren’t fully developed (he could even end up playing more at first base), so trading Rutschman would create the need to find an everyday catcher.

It’s also possible that locking up Basallo now will free Elias to shop first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who has only one year of team control left. The Orioles have committed to giving Coby Mayo a chance at first — which means giving fewer at-bats to Mountcastle in the final weeks of this season — and could get away next season with carrying Mayo instead of Mountcastle as their primary first baseman, especially given the fact that Basallo can also play there.