10 MLB Contracts That Look Like A Steal After Offseason Spending Spree

The MLB free-agent market has been busy this offseason, with more than $1 billion handed out to the four top-tier shortstops alone, and none of them were even the highest-paid player overall. That honor goes to slugger Aaron Judge.

All told, nine contracts in excess of $100 million have been signed, while 13 players have agreed to deals with an average annual value (AAV) of $20 million or higher, including the two-year, $86.7 million deal inked by AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander.

All of the money being thrown around this winter has made some players already under contract look like a bargain by comparison, and we've highlighted 10 players in particular who are absolute steals in the wake of this offseason spending spree.

Let's start with some honorable mentions.

3B Nolan Arenado and 1B Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals

Arenado opted into the final five years and $144 million of his contract at the start of the offseason, while Goldschmidt will earn $52 million over the next two seasons to close out a five-year, $130 million pact. Both are among the highest-paid players in the league, but they are also a bargain relative to their market value.

RF Ronald Acuña Jr. and 2B Ozzie Albies, Atlanta Braves

Acuña was not the same superstar-level talent in his return from a torn ACL, posting a 114 OPS+ and 2.8 WAR in 119 games, but there is still every reason to believe he'll be a steal during the back half of an eight-year, $100 million extension. Albies also has something to prove after injuries limited him to 64 games in 2022, and he's guaranteed a modest $7 million each of the next three seasons with matching club options in 2026 and 2027. Both players could be right back on the list of best bargains in 2023.

CF Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins and CF Luis Robert, Chicago White Sox

Using the eight-year, $162 million deal Brandon Nimmo signed as a gauge of the center field market, both of these players have the potential to be massively underpaid. Buxton will earn $90.9 million over the next six years, while Robert is owed $37 million the next three years and can earn another $40 million if a pair of club options are exercised. Can either player stay healthy long enough to deliver on his MVP upside?

SS Ha-Seong Kim, San Diego Padres

In a market where more than $1 billion was given to Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson, Kim is worthy of a mention. The former KBO standout took a huge step forward in the second season of a four-year, $28 million deal, and his 5.1 WAR was right in line with Bogaerts (5.8) Swanson (5.7), Correa (5.4) and Turner (4.9), who will each earn several times what he'll make in 2023.

The Miami Marlins signed Sandy Alcántara to a five-year, $56 million extension in November 2021, which includes a $21 million club option and $2 million buyout in 2027.

It was the largest contract ever handed out to a pitcher with three years of arbitration remaining, yet it also immediately looked like one of the best bargains in the sport. Seeing the money top-tier starting pitchers have received this winter, it's only going to look better in the coming years.

The 27-year-old signed his new deal following a 2021 season in which he logged a 3.19 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 201 strikeouts in 205.2 innings, but he took his game to another level this past season, winning NL Cy Young honors unanimously.

Alcántara will earn a modest $6.3 million in 2023, which is less than middling veterans Michael Lorenzen (1/$8M), Matthew Boyd (1/$10M) and Kyle Gibson (1/$10M) received in free agency this winter.

Yordan Álvarez has done nothing but hit since bursting onto the scene and winning 2019 AL Rookie of the Year honors, and the Houston Astros locked him up with a six-year, $115 million extension in June.

The 25-year-old closed out the 2022 season ranked second in the majors in OPS+ (187) behind only Aaron Judge. He hit .306/.406/.613 with 68 extra-base hits and 6.8 WAR in 135 games, and he also added a career-high 56 games in left field for good measure.

The extension bought out three years of arbitration for a combined $34.5 million and will pay him $26.8 million annually over what would have been his first three years of free agency.

That free-agency total is less than teammates Alex Bregman ($30.2M) and Jose Altuve ($29M) are set to earn in 2023, and by the time 2026 rolls around, it could look like an even better bargain relative to market value.

The Seattle Mariners have been relatively quiet in free agency this offseason, but they made their big splash at the 2022 trade deadline, acquiring Luis Castillo from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for top-tier prospects Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo.

The 30-year-old was set to reach free agency after the 2023 season, but the Mariners locked him up in late September with a five-year, $108 million extension.

The contract will pay him $11.4 million in 2023 and then $24.2 million each of the subsequent four seasons in what would have been his free-agency years.

That $24.2 million figure is less than the $27 million AAV that Carlos Rodón received on his deal with the New York Yankees, despite his lengthy injury history. With that in mind, it's not out of the question to think Castillo could have commanded a $30 million AAV had he tested the market. Instead, by moving quickly in September, the Mariners appear to have saved some money.

Edwin Díaz signed the richest contract in MLB history for a relief pitcher at the start of the offseason, agreeing to a five-year, $102 million contract to stay with the New York Mets that could pay him $121.4 million over six years if a club option is exercised in 2028.

If any reliever had a case for being baseball's best in 2022 ahead of Díaz, it was Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, and he is also potentially locked up through the 2028 season.

However, he'll earn a fraction of what Diaz does during that same timeframe, taking home $36.1 million the next six years if his $10 million club options in 2027 and 2028 are both exercised.

That's a difference of $85.3 million for a pitcher who was every bit as dominant in 2022, logging a 1.36 ERA and 0.73 WHIP while converting 42 of 46 save chances in 77 appearances.

In a market where Andrew Benintendi (5/$75M) and Mitch Haniger (3/$43.5M) both reeled in an AAV north of $14 million and oft-injured Brandon Nimmo (8/$162M) eclipsed the $20 million AAV mark, it's hard not to look at the eight-year, $72 million deal that Michael Harris II signed as a bargain in the making.

With a $15 million club option in 2031 and a $20 million club option in 2032, it could wind up being a 10-year, $102 million deal when all is said and done.

Granted, that's a terrific guarantee for a player with just 114 MLB games under his belt, but that small sample size was more than enough to believe he can be a star for years to come.

The 21-year-old made his MLB debut on May 28, jumping straight from Double-A and not missing a beat on his way to hitting .297/.339/.514 for a 135 OPS+ with 49 extra-base hits, 20 steals and 5.3 WAR. He earned an additional year of service time under the new CBA by winning NL Rookie of the Year honors.

Merrill Kelly might be the biggest "what if?" of the 2022-23 free agent class.

The right-hander was quietly effective in 2021, posting a 4.44 ERA in 158 innings over 27 starts, and the D-backs signed him to a two-year, $18 million extension just before Opening Day that locked in his $5.3 million club option for 2022 and tacked two more years onto the back end.

The 34-year-old then went out and put together a career year, logging a 3.37 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 177 strikeouts in 200.1 innings in a 3.6-WAR season.

Rather than hitting the open market on the heels of that stellar performance, he will now earn a modest $8.5 million in 2023 and 2024, along with a $7 million club option in 2025 that includes a $1 million buyout.

He likely would have at least been able to match the two-year, $25 million deals that Sean Manaea, Ross Stripling and Andrew Heaney received in free agency. The three-year, $39 million contract given to fellow 2022 breakout starter Tyler Anderson may also have been within reach.

The Seattle Mariners quietly signed hard-throwing reliever Andrés Muñoz to a four-year, $7.5 million extension prior to the 2022 season, buying out his final pre-arbitration season and all three arbitration years in the process.

The contract also includes club options for 2026 ($6M), 2027 ($8M) and 2028 ($10M), with up to $1 million in incentives also available each year based on games finished, though none of those options contains a buyout.

Acquired in the Austin Nola trade with the San Diego Padres, he missed all of the 2020 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and made just one appearance in 2021 before inking the extension. However, it quickly proved to be a stroke of genius after he returned to action this past year as one of the most overpowering late-inning relievers in baseball.

The 23-year-old had a 2.49 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 13.3 K/9 with four saves and 22 holds in 64 appearances, and after seeing the contracts that top-tier setup relievers Robert Suárez (5/$46M) and Rafael Montero (3/$34.5M) landed this offseason, he stands to be a major bargain even in his option years.

Joe Musgrove was poised to be one of the most sought-after starting pitchers on the 2022-23 free-agent market before agreeing to a five-year, $100 million extension with the San Diego Padres on Aug. 1.

At the time, it seemed likely that the El Cajon, California, native took a discount to stay close to home, and the six-year, $162 million deal signed by Carlos Rodón has now made that abundantly clear.

Musgrove is only six days older than Rodón, and he has a much cleaner track record from both a health and production standpoint, so there is every reason to believe he could have matched or exceeded Rodón's guarantee had he tested the market.

Instead, he'll settle for earning $20 million annually over the next five years and playing his home games a short drive from where he grew up. Not a bad consolation prize.

The Philadelphia Phillies bought out two years of free agency when they signed Aaron Nola to a four-year, $38.8 million extension that included a $16 million club option for the 2023 season, which was exercised at the start of the offseason.

To put that salary into perspective, in 2023, he will earn less than free-agent signing Taijuan Walker, who will take home $18 million in the first season of a four-year, $72 million deal. Walker is expected to be the No. 4 starter on the Philadelphia staff, while Nola will be the front-runner to earn the Opening Day start.

At 29 years old, Nola is still going to get his free agency pay day, assuming he provides more of the same in 2023. He is poised to headline next year's crop of available starting pitching talent in free agency alongside Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urías.

Still, the $31.5 million he'll take home in 2022 and 2023 combined is a fraction of what he could have commanded on the open market last offseason and this offseason, so he's worthy of a spot in this discussion.

After years of speculation and trade rumors, José Ramírez inked a seven-year, $141 million extension back in April that included $115 million in new money on top of a pair of remaining club options on his last contract.

After seeing Dansby Swanson sign a seven-year, $177 million deal with the Chicago Cubs over the weekend, it's hard not to think Ramírez cost himself tens of millions of dollars by not testing the free-agency waters.

Ramírez is a third baseman, so the Swanson comparison is not a clear one-to-one example, but there is little doubt he's the better all-around player by a sizable margin.

The deals that Trea Turner (11/$300M) and Xander Bogaerts (11/$280M) signed might be more in line with Ramírez's market value, though he would have been hitting the open market at the age of 32, so he may not have commanded as long of a contract.

Regardless, the perennial AL MVP candidate will be one of the biggest bargains in baseball throughout his time in Cleveland.