The Best and Worst Bang-for-Your-Buck Contracts of 2022 MLB Season
There's an old saying that you get what you pay for, but that isn't always true when it comes to Major League Baseball salaries.
Sometimes, you're fortunate enough to pay next to nothing for an MVP or Cy Young candidate. Other times, one of the most expensive players in the league ends up barely playing or performing poorly.
So, who provided the best and worst values of the 2022 MLB season?
There's a significant difference between how we're defining "best value" and how awards voters tend to define "most valuable." The latter could not care less about a player's salary, but the former is much more of a return-on-investment calculation.
For instance, a 6.5 WAR player making $8 million would be much more of an MVP candidate than a 4.0 WAR player making $2 million. However, the 4.0 WAR player is the better value. (However, a certain 11.2 WAR player making $19 million did make the cut.)
Important Note: Players making under $1 million are not eligible for consideration. Otherwise every "best value" would be someone who has yet to log enough service time to reach arbitration eligibility and is still barely making the league minimum.
So we don't completely exclude those egregiously underpaid players, though, here is our 2022 All-Bargain Club: Adley Rutschman (C); Ty France (1B); Andrés Giménez (2B); Ramón Urías (3B); Jeremy Peña (SS); Julio Rodríguez (OF); Michael Harris II (OF); Kyle Tucker (OF); Yordan Alvarez (DH); Dylan Cease (SP); Zac Gallen (SP); Alek Manoah (SP); Logan Webb (SP); Tony Gonsolin (SP); Ryan Helsley (RP)
Also worth noting: We only care about 2022 salaries. The fact that Austin Riley, Wander Franco and Sandy Alcantara are already under contract to make at least $15 million annually within the next few years is irrelevant.
Catchers
1 of 11
Best Value: Danny Jansen, Toronto Blue Jays
Salary: $1.95 million
The real gems of the catching market are the ones still under team control and making less than $750,000. We're talking about guys like Adley Rutschman, Will Smith, Sean Murphy, William Contreras, Jose Trevino, Cal Raleigh and Jansen's teammate Alejandro Kirk.
Of the backstops who have at least reached arbitration and make seven figures, though, Jansen takes the cake without much competition.
Jansen made two separate monthlong trips to the IL this season, but he has been great when available, batting .264 with a career-high 15 home runs in 70 games.
Both in terms of framing pitches and throwing out would-be base stealers, Jansen is pretty much the definition of league-average. But above-average offense and average defense for under $2 million is one heck of a bargain.
Worst Value: Yasmani Grandal, Chicago White Sox
Salary: $18.25 million
From 2016 to '21, Grandal was the most valuable catcher in baseball, clubbing 132 home runs with a .357 on-base percentage. And there was no indication whatsoever that a collapse was coming, as he had career-best-by-a-mile marks of .420 in OBP and .520 in slugging just last season.
However, his walk rate is barely half of what it was last year, and he has just five home runs compared to 23 in almost the exact same number of plate appearances as he had in 2021.
Grandal is the microcosm of everything that has gone wrong for the White Sox.
First Basemen
2 of 11
Best Value: Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks
Salary: $2.6 million
Walker's .240 batting average leaves something to be desired, but it was great to see him re-harness his slugging form from three years ago.
After averaging 44.5 plate appearances per home run in 2021, Walker slashed that rate down to 18.2 this season with 36 dingers in 655 trips to the plate. He has played in all but two games for the Diamondbacks, leading the team in home runs, RBI, runs and hits.
Walker was mentioned often as a guy who might be on the move at the Aug. 2 trade deadline, but Arizona should enjoy the next two years before its first baseman reaches free agency.
Worst Value: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
Salary: $25 million
Votto hit 25 home runs in 68 games in the second half of last season, but that didn't even remotely carry over into 2022.
It wasn't until his 25th game that Votto finally hit a home run, at which point he was batting .141 for the year on a team that already effectively had been eliminated from postseason contention. That homer was the beginning of a two-and-a-half month stretch in which both he and the Reds were at least respectable, but he finished the season with a torn rotator cuff, a .205 batting average and just 11 home runs in 91 games.
Both his batting average and on-base percentage (.319) were almost 100 full points below where his career averages were to start the season (.302 and .417, respectively). And Cincinnati still owes him another $25 million in 2023.
Second Basemen
3 of 11
Best Value: Jeff McNeil, New York Mets
Salary: $3 million
It's pretty hard to be one of the more valuable hitters in baseball when you neither hit many home runs nor steal many bases. But McNeil has found a way with a .326 batting average and an above-average glove.
Per FanGraphs, McNeil and his eight home runs and four stolen bases contributed to him ranking 16th in batting WAR—slightly ahead of Austin Riley and Julio Rodríguez, both of whom received massive contract extensions in August.
There's no way this light-hitting 30-year-old will get a similar long-term deal, but he and his .307 career batting average should be in line for some sort of pay increase. He's worth way more than $3 million.
Worst Value: Robinson Canó, New York Mets
Salary: $24 million (estimated)
Truth be told, I almost forgot about Canó and was ready to go with the White Sox's Leury Garcia ($5.5 million) instead. And that would have been a colossal mistake.
After missing all of 2021 for another PED suspension, Canó returned to the Mets for what was supposed to be the final two years of the 10-year, $240 million deal he signed prior to the 2014 season.
However, he appeared in just 12 games before they gave him the boot, deciding that simply losing more than $40 million between 2022-23 was better than letting him hurt the team with his poor play. (San Diego and Atlanta subsequently came to the same quick conclusion, albeit eating a league-minimum salary as opposed to many millions.)
.jpg?w=256)
Third Basemen
4 of 11
Best Value: Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves
Salary: $3.95 million
Barring an Aaron Judge type of MVP campaign in 2023, it's pretty unlikely that Riley will ever show up as "Best Value" again after signing that 10-year, $212 million extension.
By no means am I saying he isn't worth the money. The man is going to finish top-10 in the NL MVP vote for a second consecutive season and is the only player with at least 38 doubles and 38 home runs in 2022.
It's just that the denominator in his WAR-per-salary ratio is about to get a 4x-5x multiplier, so he would need to be way better than this in order to return the same "value."
For now, though, a 6.5 WAR for $3.95 million is pretty darn fantastic and arguably the best ROI among all players making at least $1 million.
Worst Value: Anthony Rendon, Los Angeles Angels
Salary: $36.6 million
Mike Moustakas gets a dishonorable mention here for giving the Reds a second consecutive injury-plagued, below-replacement-level season.
But at least he *only* made a combined $30 million for those duds. Rendon made $36.6 million for this season alone and also sputtered through a second straight injury-riddled mess of a year.
The Angels third baseman only lasted 45 games this time around, batting .228 with five home runs—one of which came in the first left-handed at-bat of his career and was off Tampa Bay's since-released position player Brett Phillips.
Through three years with the Angels, he still hasn't come anywhere close to matching his home run or RBI totals from 2019 alone.
Shortstops
5 of 11
Best Value: Wander Franco, Tampa Bay Rays
Salary: $1.45 million
Whereas Austin Riley will probably never show up on this list again because of his skyrocketing salary, you can just about take it to the bank that Franco will be the best value among shortstops in each of the next two seasons as well. The 21-year-old will make $2.45 million in both 2023 and 2024 and $8.45 million in 2025 before that 11-year, $182 million extension really starts to hit his bank account.
Franco missed about four weeks early in the year with a strained quad, came back for two weeks and then hit the shelf for another two months with a broken hammate bone in his right hand. As a result, he has only played in 81 games. But even in just half a season, he provided Tampa Bay with 2.3 WAR at a ridiculously team-friendly price point.
Worst Value: Didi Gregorius, Philadelphia Phillies
Salary: $15.25 million
During the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Gregorius batted .284, hit 10 home runs and played in all 60 games for the Phillies. That got him a two-year, $28 million contract that he never came close to living up to.
He batted .209 with 13 home runs in 2021, but man, at least he had some power last year. In 63 games this season before getting released, Gregorius hit .210 and slugged .304 with just one home run.
Outfielders (Best Value)
6 of 11
Best Value: Myles Straw, Cleveland Guardians
Salary: $1.65 million
Straw is batting .219, and he is just a couple days away from becoming the first qualified hitter to finish a season without a single home run since Ben Revere in 2012.
However, Straw is giving Nolan Arenado a run for his money for the unofficial title of best defensive player in the majors. When he does get on base, he's an ever-present threat to steal another one. Because of his speed and his range, he provides a good amount of value in spite of a pathetic .562 OPS. And he's doing it all for roughly $10,000 per game.
Second-Best Value: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Salary: $19 million
No other "Best Value" choice is making so much as $7 million this season, so for Judge to make the cut at $19 million is pretty incredible.
But with the exception of Barry Bonds in 2001, '02 and '04, no player in the past six decades has posted a FanGraphs WAR as high as Judge's current mark of 11.4. You can add Juan Soto (4.0 fWAR) to this season's No. 2 in fWAR (Manny Machado at 7.2) and still not equal Judge's production. Even at 11.5 times the cost of Straw, it was tempting to put Judge at No. 1 among outfielders.
Third-Best Value: Anthony Santander, Baltimore Orioles
Salary: $3.15 million
Baltimore limped to the finish line a bit, but Santander finished with a flourish, hitting multiple home runs in a game four different times in September alone.
This 27-year-old corner outfielder isn't fleet of foot (three career stolen bases), and his defensive metrics are dreadful. But at $3.15 million for 33 home runs and 88 RBI, he could just about be throwing baseballs into the stands after fielding grounders and still be worth every penny.
Outfielders (Worst Value)
7 of 11
Worst Value: Jason Heyward, Chicago Cubs
Salary: $22 million
So far for $184 million on his eight-year deal, Heyward has given the Cubs either 8.4 WAR or 8.9 WAR, depending on whether you prefer FanGraphs or Baseball Reference.
Either way, it's terrible ROI, and this final chapter was his worst yet. He hit .204 with one home run in 48 games, and the five-time Gold Glove recipient was even a detriment on defense.
Chicago still owes him another $22 million, but it's probably for the best that he won't be coming back.
Second-Worst Value: Avisaíl García, Miami Marlins
Salary: $12 million
García did hit an eighth-inning grand slam Thursday night against the Brewers, delivering a dagger to his former team's postseason dreams. But it was just his eighth home run of the season after hitting a career-high 29 last year and getting a nice four-year deal from the Marlins for it.
García is also averaging nearly seven strikeouts per walk while batting a career-worst .228.
Third-Worst Value: Eddie Rosario, Atlanta Braves
Salary: $9 million
$9 million is a drop in the bucket compared to some of the worst values on this list. But Rosario has been one of the worst players in the majors this season, as far as both Baseball Reference and FanGraphs are concerned.
A lot of that negative value came early in the season when he was playing with blurred vision from a swollen eye that necessitated surgery. But even since his return, he has been Atlanta's least valuable hitter. He is hitting .327 since Sept. 10, though, so...better late than never? Maybe another magical postseason run is coming?
Designated Hitter
8 of 11
Best Value: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Salary: $5.5 million
Really, we should cut Ohtani's salary in half and think of it as $2.75 million for the designated hitter and $2.75 million for the starting pitcher. Even if we ignore the pitching and just call it $5.5 million for what he has done as a hitter, though, he's the obvious choice here. (Yordan Alvarez doesn't count as a candidate, as he is only making $764,600.)
Ohtani is batting .275 with 34 home runs and 11 stolen bases, and he entered play on Monday riding a 17-game hitting streak. For all the time we've spent comparing him to Babe Ruth, sure would be fun to talk a little Joe DiMaggio in the spring if he can keep that streak intact through Wednesday.
Worst Value: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
Salary: $32 million
No need to beat a dead horse here. We all know that Cabrera's contract has been a millstone weighing down the Tigers for the past half-decade.
But he did get to 3,000 career hits this season, which was an awesome moment back in late April. (Which was followed by Detroit losing 16 of its next 19 games.)
Starting Pitchers (Best Value)
9 of 11
Best Value: Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins
Salary: $3.8 million
We're still waiting to hear if Alcantara will pitch in Miami's season finale against Atlanta on Wednesday, but if he doesn't, what a fitting conclusion his Cy Young-worthy season had: logging a complete game in a 1-0 loss to the Brewers on Friday. This hurler from a bygone era pitched into the eighth inning in half of his 32 starts, including going nine full innings on six occasions. And he did it all with a 2.28 ERA. He would've been worth $38 million this season, let alone $3.8 million.
Second-Best Value: Framber Valdez, Houston Astros
Salary: $3 million
Valdez got bounced in the sixth inning of each of his last two starts, ending a ridiculous streak of 25 consecutive quality starts dating back to April. While everyone marveled at Justin Verlander's dominant first year back from Tommy John surgery, this "budget ace" pitched three complete games and had a 2.41 ERA during that 25-start run.
Third-Best Value: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Salary: $5.5 million
Again, we could split Ohtani's salary up and call it $2.75 million for his pitching prowess, in which case he probably supplants Alcantara for best value. As is, $5.5 million for 161 innings with a 2.35 ERA and 11.9 K/9 is outrageous value. We already know he'll be making $30 million in 2023 before hitting free agency. If he has another season anything like 2021 and 2022, he might get a deal in excess of $50 million per year.
Fourth-Best Value: Martín Pérez, Texas Rangers
Salary: $4 million
Most of the best value guys are either on arbitration salaries or in the early stages of a back-loaded contract. Pérez might be the only one making less than he did last year. But that's because this All-Star season came out of nowhere, as he had eight consecutive seasons with an ERA north of 4.30 before getting to 2.93 through his first 31 starts this year. Will be interesting to see what this 31-year-old pitcher makes in free agency this offseason.
Fifth-Best Value: Max Fried, Atlanta Braves
Salary: $6.85 million
Two starts into the season, Fried was 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA against the Reds and Nationals. Since then, he has made 28 starts with a 2.27 ERA, including seven starts against the Dodgers and Mets, in each of which he allowed two or fewer earned runs. It's a bit of a high salary for this ROI conversation, but Fried should probably be the first runner-up for the NL Cy Young.
Starting Pitchers (Worst Value)
10 of 11
Worst Value: Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals
Salary: $35 million
It's difficult for any pitcher to live up to a $35 million salary, but it's especially difficult to do it while making just one appearance. Strasburg battled back from a thoracic outlet syndrome surgical procedure that limited him to five starts in 2021, made one disappointing start against the Marlins and then went back on the season-ending IL.
Second-Worst Value: Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox
Salary: $30 million
Hey look, it's Strasburg at a 14 percent discount. Sale missed the first few months with a stress fracture in his rib cage, suffered a broken finger after 5.2 innings and then broke his wrist while recovering from surgery on the finger. Which of these two oft-injured former aces logs the most innings in 2023?
Third-Worst Value: Dallas Keuchel, Chicago White Sox
Salary: $18 million
Strasburg and Sale basically did nothing for their teams, but Keuchel made $18 million to sabotage the White Sox with a 7.88 ERA for eight starts. Then he had a 9.64 ERA in four starts with Arizona and a 12.60 ERA in two starts for Texas.
Fourth-Worst Value: Patrick Corbin, Washington Nationals
Salary: $23.4 million
Hard to do worse than Keuchel's 9.20 ERA in 14 starts, but Corbin sure gave it the ol' college try. He did make nine quality starts this season, including a stunning gem against the Mets in early September, but he is making a ton of money to "lead" the majors in hits allowed, earned runs allowed and losses.
Fifth-Worst Value: Madison Bumgarner, Arizona Diamondbacks
Salary: $23 million
Bumgarner got out to a very promising start to the year, boasting a 1.17 ERA through five starts at the end of April. Over the next 25 starts, though, he had a 5.51 ERA. He only had one particularly bad outing (7 ER vs. Philadelphia in late August), but he allowed at least one run in every appearance and only tallied six quality starts on the season.
Relief Pitchers
11 of 11
Best Value: Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians
Salary: $1.9 million
Mets closer Edwin Díaz is having the best season among relief pitchers, but Clase is right on his tail at 19 percent of the cost.
The Guardians closer got out to a rough start with a 7.71 ERA, a loss and a blown save in his first six appearances. But since April 24, he has a 0.94 ERA with 71 strikeouts against just eight walks in 67 innings of work.
Worst Value: David Price, Los Angeles Dodgers
Salary: $32 million
Price has actually had a decent year of middle relief for the Dodgers, logging 40.1 innings pitched with a 2.45 ERA.
Sure, it has mostly been low-leverage work, as Los Angeles was either already leading or trailing by at least four runs when he entered the game on 19 of 40 occasions. But the 37-year-old lefty hasn't had a single implosion.
Problem is: Price is making twice as much in 2022 as any other relief pitcher, so respectable work in largely meaningless situations isn't enough to spare him from the worst value label.
.jpg?w=480)
