Third baseman Anthony Rendon is currently trying to help lead the Nationals to a World Series, but he’ll have a busy several weeks ahead when his team’s season ends. The 29-year-old, a first-time All-Star in 2019, is slated to reach free agency in roughly a month. Rendon will be hands down the premier position player on the open market, where only he and Astros right-hander Gerrit Cole will stand legitimate chances to rake in contracts of $200MM or more. In landing a $200MM-plus guarantee, Rendon would be joining a select group of stars whom franchises made massive commitments to in hopes they’d eventually help push their rosters over the top. The past doesn’t necessarily dictate the future, but let’s nonetheless take a look at how the $200MM position player club has fared so far…
- Mike Trout, CF, Angels (10 years, $360MM): It’s way too soon to evaluate this extension. Trout’s only one season into it, though the best player in the game/future Hall of Famer did continue to amaze in Year 1 of the pact.
- Bryce Harper, OF, Phillies (13 years, $330MM): As with Trout, it’s too early to say how well Harper’s contract will work out. But Harper, Rendon’s former teammate in Washington, did perform well in the first year of what’s sure to stand as the richest free-agent contract ever (at least until Mookie Betts hits the market a year from now).
- Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Marlins (13 years, $325MM): We’re a half-decade into this monumental extension, a gamble that didn’t really work out in the low-budget Marlins’ favor. The hulking Stanton did win an NL MVP with the club in 2017, but he combined to appear in just 193 games during injury-shortened 2015-16 seasons. Penny-pinching Miami got Stanton’s contract off its books after his MVP campaign in trading him to the Yankees, with whom he was very good (but not elite) last year. Stanton barely played during the ’19 regular season as he dealt with more injury troubles, though the complete story on his year hasn’t been written yet. With New York heading for the ALCS, Stanton could still emerge as a postseason hero in the coming weeks. Regardless, they owe him huge money through 2027.
- Manny Machado, 3B, Padres (10 years, $300MM): Like Trout and Harper, Machado just received his payday a year ago, so it’d be premature to offer an assessment on it. However, Machado didn’t wow in the first year of it, which may not augur well for the Padres.
- Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees (10 years, $275MM): Remember this? After seven years on the once-record contract he signed with the Rangers, Rodriguez – whom Texas traded to the Yankees before 2004 – opted out of it on the heels of the 2007 season. He wound up with another historic payday, in which the highs were extremely high and the lows extremely low. A-Rod continued to thrive from 2008-11 (the Yankees wouldn’t have won their most recent title in ’09 without his brilliant playoff performance), but injuries and a 162-game suspension in 2014 for performance-enhancing drugs weighed him down over the next several years. Rodriguez wasn’t able to finish out the deal (at least on the field), as the Yankees released him in August 2016. However, the should-be Hall of Famer did collect the remaining money on his contract.
- Alex Rodriguez, SS, Rangers (10 years, $252MM): This guy again. A-Rod’s first $200MM-plus pact was an earth-shaking gamble for the Rangers, who expected him to “allow this franchise to fulfill its dream of continuing on its path to becoming a World Series champion,” then-owner Tom Hicks said when they signed him going into 2001. Rodriguez did his part, including during an AL MVP-winning season in 2013, but the team floundered in spite of his excellence. In one of the most significant trades in the history of the sport, the Rangers sent Rodriguez to the Yankees after just three seasons.
- Miguel Cabrera, 1B, Tigers (eight years, $248MM): Cabrera was coming off his second straight MVP-winning campaign and his eighth All-Star season when he scored this payday in 2014, but it still looked like a questionable move for the team back then. Cabrera already had two years left on his previous contract, meaning this one didn’t kick in until his age-29 campaign in 2016. While Cabrera did continue as an offensive force that year, the future Hall of Famer hasn’t been the same player since. Cabrera has managed a minuscule 0.2 fWAR in upward of 1,200 plate appearances dating back to 2017. He’ll be on the rebuilding Tigers’ books at exorbitant salaries through 2023. Not ideal.
- Albert Pujols, 1B, Angels (10 years, $240MM): Pujols is unquestionably an all-time great (which explains why the Angels paid him so much), but he hasn’t played like it since leaving St. Louis before the 2012 season. Set to play his age-40 season and second-last year of his contract in 2020, Pujols has posted a mere 6.4 fWAR in almost 5,000 PA as an Angel. He’s fresh off his third consecutive minus-fWAR campaign, and it’s fair to say he now counts as someone the Angels wish they wouldn’t have signed to one of the richest contracts ever.
- Robinson Cano, 2B, Mariners (10 years, $240MM): It was a stunner in December 2013 when the Mariners emerged as the winners of the Cano sweepstakes, luring him from the big-spending Yankees. The Mariners were mired in a 12-year playoff drought then and hoping the longtime star would help dig them out of it. Six years later, the M’s still haven’t returned to the postseason. That’s hardly Cano’s fault, though, as he has recorded mostly stellar production throughout his contract so far. However, Cano received an 80-game PED suspension last year, which proved to be his final season in Seattle. The club dealt Cano to the Mets in a blockbuster, farm system-restocking trade for the M’s last winter. Cano just put up a career-worst year in his return to New York, likely leaving the Mets wishing they didn’t take the risk.
- Nolan Arenado, 3B, Rockies (seven years, $234MM): Toss Arenado on the “too early to evaluate” pile. The extension he signed before this season won’t take effect until next year.
- Joey Votto, 1B, Reds (10 years, $225MM): Votto landed this extension in the wake of the 2011 season, the former NL MVP’s second of six All-Star campaigns, though it didn’t kick in until 2014. Now 36 years old, Votto just wrapped up a surprisingly pedestrian season, which is worrisome with four years and $100MM remaining on his contract. With the exception of 2019, the hitting virtuoso has done nothing but stand out at the plate. At this point, all the Reds can do is hope he’ll bounce back next year.
- Prince Fielder, 1B, Tigers (nine years, $214MM): In an effort to win a championship in his final years, now-late Tigers owner Mike Ilitch authorized an enormous guarantee for Fielder entering the 2012 season. Fielder did hold his own as a hitter from 2012-13, but the Tigers didn’t win a championship in either season, and they dealt the big-bodied slugger to the Rangers after that. The Fielder acquisition certainly wasn’t great for the Rangers, as he largely underwhelmed in their uniform from 2014-16 before neck injuries forced him to unofficially call it a career.
So far only trout has lived up to his contract. Cabrera was paid for his previous production.
Cabrera and Pujols got their contracts based on production expectations set by PED players.
They all did, in the sense that GMs think stars will continue to age well despite PED testing. It’s the only explanation for a team paying Harper through age 38.
Fielder put up excellent numbers while in Detroit.
Remember the Tigers are still paying him and have been paying him for the last few years so it is hard to evaluate that contract as anything but bad.
It’s silly to think Rendon only has one all-star appearance. That might hurt him because he is not a big ticket draw like the others on this list. Also, Illitch gave out two of these contracts and he is no longer around to override a front office to go for the gusto trying to bring a championship to his city. So Rendon and others are losers in that regard.
Isn’t Nolan in the 200m club? Something about his contract keep him off this list?
The Trout deal is a bargain. He’s everything for that franchise and more.
Harper had the RBIs this season. But something was off. Plus bad manager. If that matters. Also, I don’t think he’s the best player in the game to warrant such a huge contract. Boras pulled a fast one here.
Stanton is just hurt. All the time. Huge power but can’t stay on the field. . . Will probably be an up n down player throughout. Too bad. The guys a hall of fame home run hitter.
Machado not worth $300 million. Period. Contracts are getting alittle crazy these days. I guess his defense really upped the ante. And age. I’d go $25 mil a year I guess. But that’s a huge contract for a .250 hitter and less RBIs than Hosmer.
Arod One was just setting a precedent. Huge deal over spend. They knew it.
Arod Two was sign him or the Yankees were in big trouble. It was them or nobody. And Arod wanted to stay in New York. Too bad he was a cheater. Among many others. . . Should not be in the hall. For getting suspended. Otherwhys Manny Ramirez should be there as well.
Cabrera was just a huge signing played by the owner at the time. . . They leveraged an aging man into overpaying Miguel. Who unfortunately went down fast. I suspect more of the same as the team around him isn’t very good.
Pujols was an overpay. But a huge star at the time that the Angels needed. When changing there name to Los Angeles. Got hurt with his feet. But this year he did ok. At least offensively… Some homers and ribbys. Pujols was good enough to be out there at least. Three more years to go.
Cano. Man, The guy was a boarder line HOFer. But who knew. The guy was dirty… Good luck in Queens. Will be a long slide to the end of that contract. It’s too bad. . .
Votto. What can I say. Is he a Hall candidate. ? Just based on walks.??? I don’t see him getting in. And with that ballpark. He’d have to go on a run of a few years. Way past his 1800 hits to get consideration… Too fluky of a player. . .
Fielder got hurt. Sucks. Didn’t even finish it out. But when he was young. He used to kill the ball with that lefty swing. To bad. . .
I actually appreciated this comment, thanks!
Trout won’t sell $426M worth of tickets and merchandise, so unless they win multiple championships, that contract is a big mistake. Is he worth it? To a winning organization he is. To the Angels? No.
Trout will go down in history as one of the greatest players ever. The Angels made sure their franchise is the only franchise tied to that legacy FOREVER. Well worth it when you consider how long forever can last.
Where’s your proof of that? How much has he sold up to this point in his career? Are you factoring in fans of other teams who buy his gear or go see him in their local team’s ballparks? I’d love to see your measurements and projected numbers.
Guy is the face of the sport and he’s in the top 20 jersey sales every single season. He’s the only reason people go to see the Angels. He’s worth MORE than $426M to the team over the span of his contract, but sure.
Arod’s first contract was in no way an overpay. If he played out that contract he would have earned it.
A-Rod is always getting trashed, he was problably the best SS of all time and the best 3rd basemen of all time. He earned his stay winning 2 MVPs with the Yanks. Victor Cruz led the league in homers for years after his PED bust with A-Rod in Florida but nobody mentions that about him this year or anytime over the last 5 years.
Victor Cruz made one pro bowl, but definitely never led the NFL in homeruns in any year
Please stop indexing on rbis
They don’t typically age well.
Good reminder for everyone but we still want the big money stars on our respective teams.
Votto – c’mon. His 2018 also stunk other than OBP. Unless you think 12 HR’s, 67 RBI’s, 67 runs scored, and less doubles than even this year. That’s two years in a row of mediocre at $25 MM per year. Even he admits it, so let’s be honest.
Most players are paid for previous years. If i was a GM I would never sign anyone more than a 5 year deal. Not many players can give you 5 solid years. Only a few have been good for ten years straight.
No players would sign with you and your team would be awful
To Arc….totally agree. For too many players, making huge money brings the pressure to produce. Some can handle it. Most seem guilt-riddled.
Rendon will get at least 7/235 .
Everyone whining about salaries but three of the top four and four total of this list were from last off-season.
Not too soon to evaluate last years contracts. Nolan was over paid. Then look at his home away splits and he is super over paid. Still hits hrs espicially this year but is a .270 hitter. Look at most Rockies stars and they hit at least 50 points less on road and will have like 11 triples at Coors and 1 or 2 on the road.
And who would of thought that giving a 29 30 year old a 10 year deal would be a dumb idea haha. Least manny and Bryce are young. I dont like players who dont hustle. Bryce stats wise weren’t worth the contract. But a big personality marketable guy will help with sales opposed to someone who is more reserved. Maybe doesn’t speak English or relate to fan voice etc. There are better players who aren’t the super star bryce is. Could say he is overrated but he is a super star.
Does Stantons contract have insurance?
As said in the article, top tier is too earlier to tell. The bottom tier never lived up…hmm trend is in 10 yrs..no-one lived up
Big contracts – surplus value up front, negative value at the back. No one should be surprised about overpaid aging players – that’s literally part of the tradeoff.
It should be noted that ML Baseball teams and their owners made 10 Billion in 2018 and more this year! The yankees over 1 Billion per year! with 250 million expense. $750 mill profit a year non taxable income for Steinbrenner family. Compared to the $36 mill a year for the most expensive player in baseball (trout) assures lopsided profit sharing if you ask me. Players get as much as you can because it’s your game!
Pujols is still the second-best RBI man on the Angels behind the incomparable Trout.
Until the Angels can find someone to replace that, guess what: he is still knocking in runs with less power and BA.
No one should make $200M on a contract unless they have an extensive history of big time production and health.. also helps if they are in their prime for the majority of the contract ala Trout, Harper, Machado, etc. That being said I don’t see Rendon getting $200M. I think 5yrs- $150M works for a team like PHI to sign him.