We all love a bargain.
When we go shopping, we wander by the clearance rack to see whether anything deserves to make its home in our closet for a cheap price. We flock to Starbucks when it offers a buy-one, get-one-free special.
Bargains make us feel as though we are getting something for almost nothing.
In the realm of multimillion-dollar baseball contracts, bargains are few and far between in the eyes of team owners. Yet as spring training jumps into full swing, several players will take the field at a fraction of the cost of their similarly productive counterparts.
Mike Trout Sets the Standard
Any list of bargain players has to start and end with Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout.
Just a week ago, Trout signed a one-year deal worth $1 million. That is an amazingly low salary for a player who has accomplished so much in only two full seasons:
- Two All-Star Game appearances
- Two Silver Slugger Awards
- The 2012 American League Rookie of the Year Award
- A second-place finish in the 2013 AL Most Valuable Player voting
The awards say Trout is one of the best players in the game. However, one statistic places him above every other player in Major League Baseball: a 9.2 WAR.
WAR, or wins above replacement, is a statistic you will hear frequently during baseball telecasts this season. It offers a useful measure of a player’s overall value.
The statistic combines offensive and defensive metrics to estimate how many additional wins a player gives his team compared with a replacement-level player.
Basically, WAR helps determine how indispensable a player is to his team.
Trout was baseball’s most indispensable player last year. Now the Angels will have him taking the field for the relatively cheap price of $1 million. MLB reported that the contract set a record at the time for a player who was not yet eligible for salary arbitration. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
Five More of Baseball’s Best Bargains
Mike Trout is not MLB’s only bargain. These players also provide tremendous production for relatively small salaries.
Madison Bumgarner, pitcher, San Francisco Giants
2014 salary: $3.75 million
It seems as though Bumgarner has been a Giant for a decade, but he is only 24 years old and entering the prime of his career.
He is the highest-paid player on this list. However, talented left-handed pitchers often command high salaries because every Major League Baseball team wants one on its staff.
Bumgarner delivered a strong 2013 season with a 13-9 record, a 2.77 ERA and a .205 opponents’ batting average. His ERA ranked fifth in the National League, while his opponents’ average ranked third.
He throws a nasty slider and has earned his role as the Giants’ opening-day starter.
That is not a bad deal for just under $4 million.
Jose Fernandez, pitcher, Miami Marlins
2014 salary: $490,000
Fernandez delivered a dominant rookie season and won the 2013 National League Rookie of the Year Award.
His 4.2 WAR ranked among the best rookie seasons since World War I. That placed Fernandez in the company of pitchers such as Dwight Gooden, Fernando Valenzuela and Mark Fidrych.
His statistics were eye-popping: a 12-6 record, a 2.19 ERA and a .182 opponents’ batting average. His ERA ranked second in the National League, while his opponents’ average led the league.
His winning record is even more remarkable considering the Marlins finished with the worst record in the National League last year.
Paul Goldschmidt, first baseman, Arizona Diamondbacks
2014 salary: $1.1 million
Everyone loves to see home runs, and Goldschmidt may have the best home-run power in the National League.
He led the league with 36 home runs and 125 RBIs last season, then finished second in the National League MVP voting.
Goldschmidt is talented at the plate, but he is also one of the game’s best fielding first basemen. He earned a Gold Glove Award last year.
A first baseman who can hit and field at that level is an absolute bargain at $1.1 million.
Josh Donaldson, third baseman, Oakland Athletics
2014 salary: $492,000
If you have seen Moneyball, you know Oakland general manager Billy Beane is the king of finding talented players for next to nothing.
The Athletics drafted Donaldson as a catcher but moved him to third base before the 2012 season. Since then, he has crushed American League pitching.
Donaldson batted .301 with 24 home runs and 93 RBIs last year. His WAR ranked fourth in baseball.
Somewhere in a dark office in Oakland, Billy Beane is smiling over this Moneyball-style contract.
Manny Machado, third baseman, Baltimore Orioles
2014 salary: $495,000
Machado is rehabbing a knee injury he suffered last fall, but he should be ready to play within the first few weeks of the season.
Once he takes the field, fans will get to see a player who is arguably the game’s best defensive third baseman.
Machado posted a 6.57 WAR last year, largely because of his tremendous defensive impact. FanGraphs rated him as baseball’s best defensive third baseman by a wide margin.
His strong arm and defensive range have led many scouts to compare the 2013 Gold Glove winner to Alex Rodriguez.
Machado still has plenty to learn offensively, even though he led the American League with 51 doubles last year. However, if his offense catches up with his defense, he could become one of the best third basemen of his generation.
Even in baseball, bargains are available.
You just have to look hard enough.