Cardinals: Re-ranking the worst contracts in the NL Central

Paul DeJong #11 of the St. Louis Cardinals on deck (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Paul DeJong #11 of the St. Louis Cardinals on deck (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 29: Christian Yelich #22 of the Milwaukee Brewers walks to the dugout during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at American Family Field on August 29, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – AUGUST 29: Christian Yelich #22 of the Milwaukee Brewers walks to the dugout during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at American Family Field on August 29, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

1. Christian Yelich

After finishing 1st and 2nd in MVP voting in 2018 and 2019, Christian Yelich has not been close to the same player for the Brewers.

Since 2020, Yelich has slashed .245/.360/.390 with 32 HR and 118 RBI in 1067 AB. He had more home runs and almost as many RBI in 2018 as he has during this three year stretch. 2022 has not shown much potential, as his .747 OPS and 11 HR are still a steep decline.

Although Yelich is still an above average hitter, he’s making $26 million a season through 2028, when he’ll be 36-years old. He’s already massively overpaid for the production he is giving this season, but the bigger issue is how bad of a contract it will be in future years if Yelich continues his decline.

The craziest part of this may be that insiders thought his extension was a discount at the time. If Yelich had hit the open market, he could have made $35 million a year and been an even worse contract. Now the Brewers will have to figure out what they will do with his contract in the coming years.