Ranking the Best Bargain MLB Contracts Since 2010
Contract extensions carry a level of risk for both MLB players and organizations. But when a player produces at a level well beyond his expected value, the contract can look like a bargain.
Since a high-dollar contract still might not reflect fair market value, defining what constitutes a "bargain" is highly subjective. We focused on players who signed a multiyear extension and dramatically outperformed its value.
Overall production and advanced metrics are the main factors considered, though individual accolades are mentioned.
10. Anthony Rizzo
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Acquired from the San Diego Padres in 2012, Anthony Rizzo spent his first season with the Chicago Cubs on the fourth-worst team in franchise history. But as the Cubs floundered to 61-101, Rizzo performed well enough to earn a seven-year, $41 million contract.
Four seasons later, he was a three-time All-Star who squeezed the final out of the Cubs' first championship in 108 years.
Prior to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Rizzo clubbed 25-plus homers in six straight years. Along with his three All-Star trips, he's won four Gold Gloves and a Silver Slugger.
Chicago also exercised two team options, and Rizzo—barring an extension—is bound for free agency after 2021.
9. Christian Yelich
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Prior to signing a nine-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020, Christian Yelich inked a seven-year pact with the Miami Marlins worth $49.6 million in 2015. That extension followed a Gold Glove season.
Soon after, Yelich made the Marlins look awfully smart. He'd managed 20 homers combined in his first three seasons but smacked 21 while driving in 98 runs in 2016, winning a Silver Slugger. He had another strong year in 2017 before the Marlins shipped him to the Brewers.
In Milwaukee, he became a superstar. Yelich won the NL MVP in 2018 and finished second in 2019, earning an All-Star nod and Silver Slugger in both seasons.
Yelich is due $14 million in 2021, the final season of the extension he signed with Miami.
8. Freddie Freeman
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By no means is $135 million over eight seasons an inexpensive deal, but the Atlanta Braves nailed this extension in 2014.
Through seven years, Freddie Freeman has posted a .300 batting average with a .394 on-base percentage and .530 slugging. His averages per 162 games are 44 doubles, four triples, 30 homers and 100 RBI, and he plays an elite first base too.
Freeman won a Gold Glove in 2018, earned his first Silver Slugger in 2019 and brought home the 2020 NL MVP.
Because of his team-friendly contract, Atlanta had the flexibility to sign Josh Donaldson and Marcell Ozuna to bolster playoff-contending rosters in 2019 and 2020. Freeman, who will earn $22 million in the final year of the deal, is headed for another big-money extension.
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7. Madison Bumgarner
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Excluding a pair of team options, Madison Bumgarner landed a five-year, $35 million contract in 2012. Throw in the options the franchise later exercised, and he still cost the San Francisco Giants just $59.5 million over seven seasons.
Bumgarner established himself as one of the league's most consistent pitchers. He notched a sub-3.00 ERA in four All-Star years (2013-16), won World Series and NLCS MVP honors in 2014 and tallied at least 2.4 WAR in the final three seasons of the deal.
Plus, he launched a combined nine homers en route to Silver Slugger Awards in both 2014 and 2015. Less important than his pitching, for sure, but still a valuable contribution.
Bumgarner left San Francisco after the 2019 season, joining the Diamondbacks on a five-year, $85 million pact.
6. Paul Goldschmidt
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The Arizona Diamondbacks couldn't have timed Paul Goldschmidt's extension better. After a solid 20-homer season in 2012, he agreed to a five-year, $32.5 million contract.
And then, Goldschmidt exploded.
Technically, the first baseman's NL MVP runner-up 2013 campaign doesn't count because the extension began in 2014. Still, Goldschmidt recorded two seasons (2015 and 2017) with a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, All-Star appearance and top-three MVP finish. He also made All-Star teams in 2014, 2016 and 2018, adding another Silver Slugger.
Goldschmidt ranked third among position players with 30.6 total WAR from 2014 to 2018. All for $6.5 million per year.
5. Jose Ramirez
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Jose Ramirez put together a breakout season in 2016 and then agreed to a five-year, $26 million extension. As the contract enters year five, Cleveland looks brilliant.
The switch-hitting infielder has piled up accolades with three Silver Sluggers and two All-Star teams. Ramirez—who paced the AL in doubles in 2017 and runs in 2020—finished third in AL MVP voting in both 2017 and 2018 and then ended second in 2020.
Ramirez is due $9 million in 2021, and it's fair to expect Cleveland will exercise his $12 million and $14 million options for the following two seasons.
4. Corey Kluber
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Corey Kluber earned the AL Cy Young in 2014, and Cleveland pulled off a heist that offseason. The organization signed him to a five-year, $38.5 million extension.
In other words, less than $8 million per season for an established ace. That's practically robbery.
Kluber finished ninth in 2015 Cy Young voting and checked in third the following year. Then in 2017, he posted an AL-best 18 wins and 2.25 ERA—the best season of his career—and landed a second Cy Young. For good measure, Kluber recorded a personal-best 20 wins and finished third in 2018.
Injuries limited him to eight starts combined in 2019 and 2020 (Cleveland exercised a team option for the latter year), but Kluber's excellence earlier in the deal is undeniable.
3. Andrew McCutchen
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In the spring of 2012, Andrew McCutchen inked a six-year, $51.5 million pact with the Pittsburgh Pirates. It meant that during the prime of his career—from ages 25 to 28—the star outfielder earned no more than $10.3 million in a season. He didn't become a top-100 earner in baseball until 2015.
Yet McCutchen was the second-best position player in MLB.
From 2012 to 2015, he only trailed Mike Trout in total WAR. McCutchen surrounded his 2013 NL MVP with four Silver Sluggers, four All-Star trips, three top-five MVP finishes and a Gold Glove. While totaling 100 homers, 161 more extra-base hits and 359 RBI, he slashed .313/.404/.523.
McCutchen's play has slipped over the last three years, but he still averaged 24 homers, 77 RBI and 96 runs per 162 games.
2. Chris Sale
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After thriving in the bullpen for two seasons, Chris Sale joined the Chicago White Sox rotation in 2012. He went 17-8 with a 3.05 ERA, and the Sox rewarded him with a five-year, $32.5 million raise.
It's a shame the Sox never competed for much of anything from 2013 to 2017. Sale was nearly untouchable.
During the first four years, Sale posted a combined 3.04 ERA in 823.2 innings. The southpaw registered 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings with a 131 ERA+ and 3.01 FIP, making four All-Star teams and ending in the top five of AL Cy Young voting each season.
Chicago shipped Sale to the Boston Red Sox before the final year of his contract, and he kept thriving. He struck out a league-high 308 batters and finished second in the Cy Young race in 2017.
Five seasons of elite pitching for an average of $6.5 million annually is incredible value.
1. Mike Trout
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In short: Mike Trout can hardly be paid enough.
The runner-up in AL MVP voting during both of his first two full seasons, Trout wasted no time becoming an undeniable superstar for the Los Angeles Angels. Prior to the 2014 season, he signed a six-year contract worth $144.5 million.
Even if you exclude 2014 (you know, when won the AL MVP) because the extension didn't start until 2015, it's still far below his actual value.
From 2015 to 2018, Trout led the American League in OPS+ every season. He averaged 36 homers, 28 doubles, four triples, 105 runs and 22 steals while slashing .308/.435/.596 with an OPS of 1.031. Trout landed the 2016 AL MVP and never finished below fourth in the award's voting.
You could say the extension ended as a four-year agreement for $76.3 million because he signed a 12-year, $426.7 million deal in 2019. That, or keep the six-year timetable and add the 2019 MVP.
Either way works. He's still not paid enough.
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