Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rendon headline 10 MLB contracts aging the worst

Major League Baseball

Updated Feb. 19, 2024 8:06 p.m. ET

One year into an 11-year, $280 million contract with the Padres, Xander Bogaerts is moving from shortstop to second base. The position change, which involves Ha-Seong Kim returning to short, is even more stunning when considering the 31-year-old Bogaerts has never manned second in his professional career.

But it’s only the latest in a series of confounding moves from San Diego, which has been as financially aggressive as any franchise in baseball over the past few years. The Pads have handed out six different contracts of at least $80 million since 2021. Results have been mixed thus far. Bogaerts, for instance, posted solid offensive numbers in 2023, but his .285/.350/.440 slash line and 120 OPS+ were all his lowest marks since 2017.

Moreover, Bogaerts’ defense at shortstop also took a dip, as he finished the year with minus-4 defensive runs saved (per Baseball-Reference). The four-time All-Star still has a decade left in San Diego, with plenty of time to turn things around and remain a productive core piece of the Padres going forward as they try to rebound from a forgettable 2023 despite reducing payroll and trading away Juan Soto to the Yankees.

Bogaerts, of course, isn’t alone among recent signings that already look problematic. Fellow shortstops Carlos Correa (Twins) and Trea Turner (Phillies) struggled even more so last year, in the first years of their nine-figure contracts. As of now, there are about 60 active players on $100-plus million deals, though nearly half of them were signed in the past year alone.

With that, we examined every megadeal that is at least two years old and determined which ones have underwhelmed most. (Editor’s note: We did not include Rays shortstop Wander Franco because of the uncertainty surrounding his future playing status.)

Here are 10 $100 million contracts currently aging the worst (listed chronologically).

1. Giancarlo Stanton, OF/DH, New York Yankees

Contract: 13 years, $325 million ($25 million average annual value) in 2015 (with Miami Marlins)

Remaining terms: 4 years, $118 million; team option for $25 million in 2028

Total (Baseball-Reference) wins above replacement since signing: 22.4 (nine seasons)

2023 stats: .191/.275/.420, 24 HRs, 60 RBIs, 87 OPS+

At the time Stanton signed his contract extension with the Miami Marlins after the 2014 season, it was the largest in the history of professional sports. It also appeared to be a major milestone for the Marlins, who had struggled to contend but believed they had a superstar to build around. Then-owner Jeffrey Loria triumphantly calling Stanton “the face of the franchise for the next 13 years.”

But while Stanton remained excellent over the next few years, winning National League MVP after a 59-home run season in 2017, the Marlins remained terrible, and Loria finalized a sale of the team that same season. The following winter, new ownership traded Stanton to the Yankees in a massive salary dump. It appeared to cement the Yankees’ return to perennial contention, with Stanton teaming up alongside Aaron Judge to form arguably MLB’s most fearsome slugging duo.

However, Stanton has never lived up to his 2017 standards or massive hype with the Yankees. He spent most of 2019 and 2020 on the injured list, and after a couple of solid-but-unspectacular seasons, he declined further in 2023, posting the lowest batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage of his career while continuing to deal with injuries. He’s also become virtually unusable in the outfield. This winter, Yanks general manager Brian Cashman infamously remarked that getting hurt “seems to be a part of [Stanton’s] game.”

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2. Patrick Corbin, LHP, Washington Nationals

Contract: 6 years, $140 million ($23.33 million AAV) in 2019

Remaining terms: 1 year, $35 million

Total WAR since signing: 3.4 (five seasons)

2023 stats: 10-15, 5.20 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 124 Ks, 180 IPs, 83 ERA+

It’s hard to consider a contract a complete disaster when the player in question helped his team win a championship in his first season there. But Corbin is 27-57 with a 5.62 ERA since 2020. That’s the highest ERA and by far the most losses during this stretch. No one could have foreseen the two-time All-Star aging in this manner upon turning 30, but at least he come off Washington’s books after this season.

3. Stephen Strasburg, RHP,Washington Nationals

Contract: 7 years, $245 million ($35 million AAV) in 2020

Remaining terms: 3 years, $105 million

Total WAR since signing: -0.5 (four seasons)

2023 stats: N/A

Giving such a contract to a pitcher with Strasburg’s injury history obviously looks bad in hindsight, but context is key. When he signed the deal, Strasburg had just won World Series MVP and helped lead the franchise to its first title and won World Series MVP. He’d made good on being the first overall pick and his status as a generational prospect.

Alas, Strasburg has appeared in just eight games since, and none since June 2022, while dealing with myriad injuries. Reports emerged late last season that he planned to formally retire from Major League Baseball last September, but that devolved into a bizarre and still-ongoing standoff between Strasburg and the Nationals over the remaining money in his deal. For now, Strasburg remains under contract and thus on this list despite the unlikelihood that he will ever throw another MLB pitch again.

4. Anthony Rendon, 3B, Los Angeles Angels

Contract: 7 years, $245 million ($35 million AAV) in 2020

Remaining terms: 3 years, $114 million

Total WAR since signing: 1 (four seasons)

2023 stats: 236/.361/.318, 2 HRs, 22 RBIs, 88 OPS+

The Angels adding Rendon to a lineup featuring Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani looked amazing on paper, especially with the star third baseman also coming off the Nationals’ World Series run of 2019. Instead, Rendon has dealt with numerous injuries and has yet to appear in more than 58 games in any of his four seasons with the Halos. Lately, he’s generated more headlines because of feuds with fans and media members and, most recently, indifference toward the game.

5. Kris Bryant, OF/DH, Colorado Rockies

Total contract value: 7 years, $182 million ($26 million AAV) in 2022

Remaining terms: 5 years, $138 million

Total WAR since signing: -0.6 (two seasons)

2023 stats: .259/.335/.404, 15 HRs, 45 RBIs, 93 OPS+

Signing Bryant one year after trading Nolan Arenado immediately seemed like an odd fit for a Rockies team far from contention. But at least Colorado fans would be treated to the former NL MVP crushing baseballs year-round in elevation, right?

Instead, Bryant did not hit his first home run at Coors Field until April 2023, which as the Athletic put it at the time, came after “140 plate appearances, two critical injuries, three hitting coaches and the first $24 million of a seven-year deal.” Bryant went on to appear in only 80 games last season — after playing just 52 the year before — due to ongoing foot problems and a broken hand, and looked like a shell of his former self when available.

6. Javier Báez, SS, Detroit Tigers

Contract: 6 years, $140 million ($23.33 million AAV) in 2022

Remaining terms: 4 years, $98 million

Total WAR since signing: 3.2 (two seasons)

2023 stats: .222/.267/.325, 9 HRs, 59 RBIs, 62 OPS+

When Bryant’s former World Series-winning Chicago Cubs teammate arrived in Detroit, it seemed to signal that Báez would be tasked with leading the Tigers back to playoff contention as the team’s slugging shortstop. While Detroit’s rebuild is progressing, Báez has struggled mightily at the plate as a Tiger (and was temporarily benched early in the 2023 season for making a baserunning mistake). The former All-Star had a player opt-out this winter but couldn’t dare exercise it given his production with Detroit thus far.

7. Trevor Story, SS/2B, Boston Red Sox

Contract: 6 years, $140 million ($23.33 million AAV) in 2022

Remaining terms: 4 years, $95 million (player opt-out in 2026)

Total WAR since signing: 3.3 (two seasons)

2023 stats: .203/.250/.316, 3 HRs, 14 RBIs, 52 OPS+

Following an underwhelming first season in Boston, Story had to undergo UCL surgery last January and was sidelined until August. When Story did return, his numbers plummeted to career lows in just about every major category. He’s appeared in only 137 games for the Red Sox, and most of those came at second base because Bogaerts was at shortstop. Story, who’s always been a great defender, will be counted on to not only occupy his original position full time this year but return to star form following Boston’s quiet and polarizing offseason.

8. José Berríos, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays

Contract: 7 years, $131 million ($18.71 million AAV) in 2022

Remaining terms: 5 years, $101 million (player opt-out in 2027)

Total WAR since signing: 1.8 (two seasons)

2023 stats: 11-12, 3.65 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 184 Ks, 189.2 IPs, 116 ERA+

The extension Berríos signed with the Blue Jays in late 2021, just months after Toronto traded for him, signaled a big bet the team was making that the right-hander would continue to be a frontline starter for the next several years.

Instead, Berríos led all American League pitchers in hits and earned runs allowed in 2022. He helped the Blue Jays to the playoffs with a nice rebound season in 2023, but only lasted three innings and took the loss in a wild-card elimination game against his former Twins.

9. Robbie Ray, LHP, San Francisco Giants

Contract: 5 years, $115 million ($23 million AAV) in 2022 (with Seattle Mariners)

Remaining terms: 3 years, $73 million (player opt-out in 2025)

Total WAR since signing: 1.8 (two seasons)

2023 stats: 0-1, 8.10 ERA, 2.7 WHIP, 3 Ks, 3.1 IPs, 55 ERA+

Ray arrived in Seattle as the reigning AL Cy Young winner, but regressed in 2022, posting a 3.71 ERA that was right at the MLB average. Still, he helped the Mariners reach the playoffs for the first time in 21 years, and was called upon to get the final out in Game 1 of the ALDS against Astros slugger Yordan Álvarez.

That, uh, did not go as planned.

Ray then made just one start in 2023 before needing Tommy John surgery and was traded to the Giants this winter. He’s not expected to return to the mound until the second half of 2024.

10. Nick Castellanos, OF, Philadelphia Phillies

Contract: 5 years, $100 million ($20 million AAV) in 2022

Remaining terms: 3 years, $60 million

Total WAR since signing: 1.5 (two seasons)

2023 stats: .272/.311/.476, 29 HRs, 106 RBIs, 112 OPS+

The outfield slugger had the worst offensive campaign of his career upon arriving in Philadelphia in 2022, though it seemed to be forgiven amid the team’s World Series run. Castellanos rebounded at the plate last year and pulverized the Braves in the NLDS. But he went 1-for-24 in the Phillies’ NLCS loss to the Diamondbacks. He’s also continued to struggle on defense in right field, despite Citizens Bank Park featuring one of MLB’s shortest porches. All of it has severely cut into his value and led to frequent trade speculation.

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