Ranking the 10 best contracts in recent St. Louis Cardinals history

Adam Wainwright # 50 and Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals bump gloves prior to the start of the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 10, 2019 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by St. Louis Cardinals, LLC/Getty Images)
Adam Wainwright # 50 and Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals bump gloves prior to the start of the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 10, 2019 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by St. Louis Cardinals, LLC/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 11
Next
St. Louis Cardinals
Adam Wainwright #50 of the St. Louis Cardinals uses his rosin bag after giving up back-to-back home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth inning at Busch Stadium on September 26, 2020 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

No. 5: Adam Wainwright (2021)

Value: +$22.2 million

Following an up and down 2019 that saw Wainwright turn in a strong second half performance, Wainwright came back to the club on a one-year, $8 million deal for what was supposed to be his last season with the Cardinals.

Wainwright proceeded to turn into one of the best storylines of 2021, finishing 7th in Cy Young and 20th in MVP voting at age 40. Wainwright was the anchor in a rotation devastated by injuries, posting an ERA of 3.05 over 206.1 innings with a record of 17-7. Waino’s ability to eat innings at a high level and turn in gems was one of the major reasons the club was able to stay afloat and make a late playoff push.

This was one of the best one year values that a club could hope for, especially for someone who turned 40 years old in August. If Waino can be anything close to that in 2022, he’ll prove to be another great investment.