St. Louis Cardinals: The deal with the mega deal, cautionary tales

The St. Louis Cardinals remember the 2011 season for many reasons. One reason was the end of one mega deal for the birds.

For many St. Louis Cardinals fans the 2011 season may be remembered as the squirrelly scrappers who battled the Texas Rangers to an eventual World Series victory. The team then lost Tony La Russa to retirement.

This was also the final season Albert Pujols played for the Cardinals before signing a mega deal with the Los Angeles Angels.

The St. Louis Cardinals followed 2011 with a few near-successful campaigns that ended just short of adding to their 11 World Series titles. Meanwhile, the mega deal hasn’t worked out favorably for the Angels.

Fast forward to the present and this year marks the third consecutive year that the Cardinals have not made a postseason appearance. Many fans are raising their voices in concern that something must change with the direction of this team.

The mid-season firing of Mike Matheny marked the shift of the Cardinals focus to invoke change. Next on the agenda is the approaching free agency that will arrive soon yet seemingly last an eternity if the Cardinals can’t make a big splash that many fans are asking for.

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The “big splash” fish slapping the St. Louis Cardinals in the face appear with the opportunities to sign Bryce Harper or Manny Machado – both of whom accrued 30+ fWAR (Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement) through their age-26 season. Many fans will follow this off-season closely monitoring the two young free agents with intent on seeing who they sign with as well as how damaging the contract could potentially be.

Mega deals have completely reshaped many organizations over the years. Previously mentioned was Pujols who in hindsight has limited the Angels financially while somehow not allowing them to win with the current best player on the planet, Mike Trout. Several other teams have also been crippled with performance not matching the value of mega deals.

There is risk versus reward in how much a single player signing can change the dynamic of a ball club. Hopefully this article can serve as a reminder that the mega deal may not lead to a positive outcome after several years.

If you’re the type who thrives on living in the moment then signing one of the two big studs may feel instantly gratifying; however, what happens when said player fails to meet expectations after just a few years following the signing? Will you blame the organization for making such a signing? The Cardinals have often had success with their large contractual long-term commitments – from Matt Holliday to Adam Wainwright.

Here is an opportunity to reflect on some contracts in recent years that may cause pause before demanding a near half-billion-dollar contract for any one player.

Miguel Cabrera is signed from 2016-2023 for $247,000,000 – averaging $31,000,000 per year on a team’s financial commitment.
Robinson Cano signed with the Mariners for the same contract Pujols has with the Angels: 10 years and $240,000,000.
David Price, who many Cardinals fans wanted at the time, has several years left on his seven-year $217,000,000 contract while coming across as disappointing to many Red Sox fans.
Prince Fielder seems forgotten for his retirement even though he is signed until 2020 in a nine-year $214,000,000 albatross.
Next comes a name many Cardinals fans are familiar with in Jason Heyward, who signed for an eight-year $184,000,000 contract while only producing a combined 4 fWAR through his first three years (remember when many fans were outraged he didn’t sign with the Cardinals? Hmm…).

Few contracts have worked out (I’m looking at you Max Scherzer). Think of how many other teams out there are that have been hindered by dead weight contracts.

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Thus, this serves memory for those wishful thinkers that buyers beware – the odds are against a mega deal working out.

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