All 13 Completed $200 Million MLB Contracts RANKED

13 Completed MLB Contracts Worth at Least $200 Million, Ranked

The video ranks 13 completed MLB contracts worth at least $200 million, from worst to best. Its main measure is on-field production, using FanGraphs WAR at roughly $8 million per win. The rankings also consider business value and whether each player fit the team’s competitive window.

13. Anthony Rendon — Angels

The clearest flop. Rendon missed at least 100 games in each of his first four full seasons with Los Angeles, missing 443 games in total and producing just 3.8 fWAR for $245 million. The team was not close to contention when it signed him.

12. Stephen Strasburg — Nationals

Strasburg was the 2019 World Series MVP, but thoracic outlet syndrome limited him to 31⅓ innings and eight starts after the championship. His brief production was almost zero by the video’s valuation, though the signing made sense for a team coming off a title and still aiming to contend.

11. Miguel Cabrera — Tigers

Cabrera’s extension brought major business value: fans could follow a future Hall of Famer’s pursuit of 500 home runs and 3,000 hits, and his 2023 farewell tour drew attention. But after a strong 2016, he delivered little on the field, while Detroit spent years rebuilding.

10. Albert Pujols — Angels

Pujols hit 228 homers over the 10-year deal but produced only 8.5 fWAR. His late-career return to St. Louis brought a brief resurgence, but most of the contract was an overpay. The Angels had a plausible shot at contention when they signed him, and he brought star power and milestone-chasing appeal.

9. Prince Fielder — Tigers

Fielder helped Detroit win consecutive pennants in his first two seasons, hitting 30 home runs in each. A neck injury, a trade to Texas and his midseason retirement in 2016 curtailed the deal. The signing fit Detroit’s immediate title push, though it also moved Cabrera from his preferred position.

8. David Price — Red Sox

Price helped Boston win the 2018 World Series, but his seven-year deal returned substantially less on-field value than it cost. The video still gives the signing high marks for bolstering the team and fitting its eventual championship window.

7. Alex Rodriguez’s Yankees Extension

Rodriguez produced 19.8 fWAR, but the video estimates he fell about $87.5 million short of the contract’s value after accounting for his suspension. The Yankees got a major star and a 2009 championship, but the deal also covered his seasons from age 33 through 42.

6. Zack Greinke — Diamondbacks

Greinke had two excellent seasons in Arizona, but four of his six seasons were average or worse. He fell short of the production needed to justify the contract, and Arizona’s competitive window was brief: the team won the NL West in 2018, then traded him to Houston the following year.

5. Robinson Canó — Mariners

Canó was a five-time All-Star and brought star power to Seattle. His 21.7 fWAR came close to the video’s break-even mark, though two suspensions affected the deal. The Mariners improved from 71 wins before his arrival to 87 in his first season, but never made the playoffs during his five years there.

4. Joey Votto — Reds

Votto delivered 26.5 fWAR, just shy of the deal’s break-even point. He was a superstar and future Hall of Famer, but his contract took up a large share of Cincinnati’s payroll as the team’s spending fell. The Reds made the playoffs only once during the deal, in the shortened 2020 season.

3. Clayton Kershaw — Dodgers

Kershaw exceeded the deal’s expected on-field value, producing 35.5 fWAR against a break-even mark of about 26.9. The video gives the signing top marks for team fit and timing: an ace in his prime joined a team with a sustained playoff window. The Dodgers won their first title of his contract’s seven-year span in its final season.

2. Max Scherzer — Nationals

Scherzer’s seven-year deal was one of the best of the era. He won two Cy Young Awards in Washington, produced 35.6 fWAR and helped the Nationals win the 2019 World Series. He was traded to the Dodgers at the 2021 deadline, after delivering far more value than the contract cost.

1. Alex Rodriguez’s Original Deal — Rangers and Yankees

Rodriguez’s enormous contract produced exceptional value despite Texas paying him for only three seasons before trading him to New York. The video credits his Texas years with 27 fWAR, worth more than the team’s outlay, and estimates an even larger surplus for the Yankees during their portion of the deal. Texas remained near the bottom of its division, while the Yankees made the playoffs in all four seasons Rodriguez played for them under the contract.

Presenter/source: First Base Is Easy.