The 10 Greatest Bargains in MLB Entering 2020 Season
Baseball is all about maximizing value.
Some highly paid players earn their massive paychecks. Others don't. But every team dreams of a player whose production far outweighs his earnings.
OF Austin Meadows
1 of 10
2019 WAR: 4.0
2020 Salary: $583,500
Outfielder Austin Meadows hit 33 home runs with a .922 OPS for the Tampa Bay Rays last season after coming over in the 2018 trade-deadline deal that sent right-hander Chris Archer to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Meadows earned a deserved All-Star nod in 2019, snagged stray MVP votes and looks like a star on the rise for Tampa Bay.
He'll turn 25 in May and won't reach arbitration until 2022. The tight-budgeted Rays likely won't be able to sign him to an expensive extension, but he's a huge part of their small-market plans and will be a key piece as they look to build upon last year's wild-card slot.
2B Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves
2 of 10
2019 WAR: 4.6
2020 Salary: $1M
Ozzie Albies hit .295 with an .852 OPS for the Atlanta Braves last season while swatting 24 home runs and stealing 15 bases.
He turned 23 in January and is locked into an exceedingly affordable contract that could allow the Braves to keep him through 2027 with a pair of $7 million club options.
If he continues on his current trajectory, that will be outright highway robbery for Atlanta.
1B Pete Alonso, New York Mets
3 of 10
2019 WAR: 4.8
2020 Salary: $583,500
Pete Alonso led both leagues with 53 home runs last season while posting a .941 OPS and rightly running away with National League Rookie of the Year honors.
At age 25, he won't hit arbitration until 2022.
Already, he's one of the most fearsome sluggers in the game, and despite some limitations with the leather (he posted minus-three defensive runs saved in 2019), he's an unequivocal steal for the Queens contingent and a player they should do whatever it takes to keep for the long haul.
OF Juan Soto, Washington Nationals
4 of 10
2019 WAR: 4.8
2020 Salary: $583,500
Juan Soto hit 34 home runs with a .949 OPS for the world-champion Washington Nationals in 2019 and finished ninth in NL MVP voting.
Given his tender young age of 21, the stratosphere is the limit for the hyper-talented outfielder.
Soto won't reach arbitration until 2022, and the Nats could ride that out and enjoy an immense bargain. But they'd be wise to lock him into a long-term deal as soon as possible, which is something general manager Mike Rizzo has said he'd do if Soto's camp is amenable.
RHP Jack Flaherty, St. Louis Cardinals
5 of 10
2019 WAR: 5.0
2020 Salary: $583,500
Jack Flaherty posted a 2.75 ERA in 196.1 frames while averaging 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings for the St. Louis Cardinals last season.
He finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting and picked up down-ballot MVP votes.
He's entering his age-24 season and won't reach arbitration until 2021. St. Louis should obviously consider a long-term deal, but at the moment, Flaherty is one of the best starting pitchers in the game and making less than your average veteran backup middle infielder.
RHP Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox
6 of 10
2019 WAR: 5.1
2020 Salary: $627,000
A first-round draft pick (16th overall) in 2012 by the Washington Nationals, Lucas Giolito made the jump to elite status with the Chicago White Sox in 2019.
The 25-year-old righty averaged 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 176.2 frames while twirling three complete games and throwing a pair of shutouts.
His arbitration clock will begin in 2021. But for now, he's a huge and hugely inexpensive piece of the ChiSox's surging rebuild, which could see them turn into legitimate contenders during the 2020 season.
OF Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves
7 of 10
2019 WAR: 5.6
2020 Salary: $1M
Ronald Acuna Jr. hit 41 home runs, stole 37 bases and posted an .883 OPS for the Atlanta Braves in 2019. The 2018 NL Rookie of the Year finished fifth in MVP voting and honestly could have placed higher.
He also logged capable innings at all three outfield positions and turned 22 in December. If there were a prototype for a rising superstar, Acuna would be it.
He'll get more expensive in the coming years when his eight-year, $100 million extension kicks in, finishing with a pair of club options for $17 million apiece in 2027 and 2028.
Even in the end, it may be a steal. For now, the Braves are getting a premium player for relative pennies.
RHP Shane Bieber, Cleveland
8 of 10
2019 WAR: 5.6
2020 Salary: $583,500
Cleveland Indians right-hander Shane Bieber broke out in 2019, his second big league season, and checked all the boxes of a No. 1 starter.
He logged 214.1 innings, struck out 10.9 per nine and posted a 3.28 ERA. He finished fourth in American League Cy Young Award voting and made his first All-Star team.
He'll turn 25 on May 31 and won't reach arbitration until 2022. That's excellent news for the cost-conscious Indians, who traded erstwhile ace Corey Kluber to the Texas Rangers this winter and are surely hoping Bieber is the heir apparent.
INF Yoan Moncada, Chicago White Sox
9 of 10
2019 WAR: 5.7
2020 Salary: $627,000
After hitting just .235 and striking out an MLB-leading 217 times in 2018, Chicago White Sox infielder Yoan Moncada turned the corner in 2019.
The 24-year-old hit .315 with a .915 OPS and swatted 25 home runs last season.
There has been chatter about a long-term extension. If things stay as they are, though, Moncada won't reach arbitration until 2021 and will be yet another inexpensive piece on a stacked young White Sox roster.
3B Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox
10 of 10
2019 WAR: 5.9
2020 Salary: $583,500
Last season was a disappointing one for the Boston Red Sox, who finished a distant third in the AL East and missed the postseason. After they traded superstar outfielder Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2020 could be equally dismal.
One obvious bright spot: third baseman Rafael Devers, who hit .311 with 32 home runs and an MLB-leading 359 total bases.
Devers is entering his age-23 season and won't hit arbitration until 2021, assuming Boston doesn't sign him to an extension before then, which it certainly should.
"We haven't had discussions about that yet," Devers told reporters through a translator. "My agent hasn't told me anything. As of now, I'm just focused on playing the game."
All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs and Baseball Reference unless otherwise noted.
