World Series 2022: Players Who Can Earn New Contracts after Fall Classic

Right now, all eyes are on the 2022 World Series between highly favored Houston Astros and the underdog Philadelphia Phillies.

Outside of the overall excitement that comes with the Fall Classic, baseball fans are going to be looking at the individual performances because that's what puts players into another category that could lead to Cooperstown.

For the ballclubs that are in and out of the 118th World Series, though, they'll be looking at individual performances for another reason: contract negotiations.

The biggest stars in the series like Bryce Harper, Zach Wheeler, Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Justin Verlander are all locked in and won't need to be re-signed this offseason.

But there are players who will be instrumental in whether their team wins or loses and are up for new contracts like Yuli Gurriel, Trey Mancini and Rafael Montero of the Astros and Brad Hand of the Phils.

It's probably too early to make the call about how players will fare in free agency, but here's a look at the players who could benefit the most from a memorable performance in the World Series.

Everyone loves a comeback story.

Gurriel isn't making his way back from a career-threatening injury, but he has been on the business end of a subpar year in Houston.

After winning the American League batting title and the Gold Glove in 2021, the 38-year-old first baseman's batting average went from .319 to .242 and he only had eight home runs this season compared to 31 in 2019.

Luckily for La Piña, no slump lasts forever.

This postseason, Gurriel has shown the Astros and perhaps other teams that might be interested in signing him this offseason that he's still got it.

So far, he's got a .367 batting average in the playoffs, and in 30 trips to the plate, he's yet to strike out.

Case in point: He just had another big moment in Game 1 of the ALCS when he hit a dinger in the sixth inning that traveled 381 feet to help Houston sweep the New York Yankees.

It's going to be tricky for the Astros to try to figure out how to keep Gurriel, but if he helps deliver another title, it will be hard to imagine them letting him go.

The Phils signed relief pitcher Brad Hand to a one-year, $6 million deal in March, and his play has been reliable for the most part since.

During the regular season, the 32-year-old southpaw had 38 strikeouts, 23 walks, five saves and a 2.80 ERA over 45 innings.

For the playoffs, Hand has three strikeouts, two wins and a 7.36 ERA over 3.2 innings.

A problem for him could be if he has to pitch against the left-handed part of the Astros lineup. Hand's swing-and-miss ability is suspect and could haunt him against hitters like Yordan Alvarez in the World Series.

But if he can play well, he could get a much bigger check this offseason than $6 million per because there are a lot of teams that want to have a productive left-hander out of the bullpen.

He's already proved to be a dependable reliever over the course of his career with a 3.62 ERA.

Just a little over a year after the Seattle Mariners traded Rafael Montero to the Houston Astros, he was instrumental in helping his new team eliminate his old team in the ALDS.

After struggling for a few seasons with the New York Mets, Texas Rangers and Mariners, the 32-year-old reliever has found a home where he's one of the most trusted relievers in the Astros bullpen.

In the regular season, he had a 2.37 ERA and 73 strikeouts over 71 games.

During the playoffs, he's been even more reliable, allowing just one run and throwing some serious heat over six games.

Who could forget his 96.8 mph pitch at the bottom of the zone that froze Josh Donaldson in Houston's series-clinching Game 4 against the Yankees?

If he can continue throwing hard during the World Series, he could make himself a hot commodity in the offseason.

That could mean the Astros would have to either pay him somewhere in the range of $8 million a year or watch him walk to sign a deal with another team.