Yes, They are Overpaid

Yes, They are Overpaid
Sam Grus
12-17-2013  12:56 pm

OWENSVILLE, MO-On December 6th, the baseball world was flipped upside down, as top free agent second baseman Robinson Cano signed the dotted line with the Seattle Mariners. Cano is a premier player who has one of the prettiest swings in all of baseball and debatedly has the best arm of any infielder in the game. Seattle signed Cano to a 10-year deal worth $240 million. It was a surprise that the New York Yankees, who were Cano’s former team, did not sign him for equal or a little more than that. Maybe the Yankees are smart, maybe they are catching on to something, or maybe they knew something the Seattle did not. It could also be because 10-year deals are not the best thing.

Only eight players in MLB history have ever signed a 10-year contract, and none of them worked out. The most recent 10-year deal was Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels. After winning a World Series in 2011 with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pujols left his hometown for more money. He signed on for $254 million for 10 years, which is a pretty steep deal for any team, but the Angels did it anyways. Pujols is going into his third year with the Angels and has totaled 253 games and only batted .272. Those numbers are not where they need to be for the Angels to get what they need in order to pay off his deal.

Possibly the most famous long-term contract is the one between the New York Yankees and third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Alex Rodriguez is one of those players that comes once in a lifetime. When he first came to New York he was a star, but he needed a little push. After having an outstanding first couple of seasons, the “Bronx Bombers” decided to renew his contract, and renew they did. From 2008-2017 he is the property of the New York Yankees for $275 million. But what makes this the most famous is that Rodriguez’s stats have tailed off in the past couple of seasons, and he is under investigation for steroid use. Since 2008 he is batting .275 and has been averaging 111 games per season. He just does not produce the same as he used to. Going into 2014 he will be 39 years old and his age and numbers prove that for $27.5 million a year, he just is not worth it for four more sub-par seasons.

So maybe the Yankees learned from their recent mistake of Alex Rodriguez, and they did not want to be burdened with a heavy contract again. These deals are not something that should stay in major league baseball, because they are money pits and they do not help the player or the team. Almost all of the 10-year contracts were to aging ballplayers at the end of their prime years. So yes, Robinson Cano is the third most overpaid player in baseball right now. If his numbers are not where they are supposed to be do not expect him to stay in Seattle to long.