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

6. Marcus Stroman

Another starter from the 2021 offseason that St. Louis was linked to, Marcus Stroman signed a 3 year, $71 million deal with the Cubs to be the ace of their staff for the foreseeable future. The 31-year old right hander makes $25 million in 2022 and 2023 with a $21 million player option for 2024.

At this rate, Chicago will be hoping Stroman opts out of that contract after 2023. Although Stroman has not been bad for Chicago, going 3-6 with a 3.96 ERA in 101.2 innings of work, he certainly has not been good, and is not living up to the salary he is currently being paid. For a team that desperately needs talent, $25 million a year for a guy pitching like #5 starter is a bad use of resources.

Like Matz, there is still time for Stroman to turn this around and make his contract look like good value. He is coming off a year where he had a 3.02 ERA pitching for the Mets, which proves the right-hander has what it takes to pitch at a high level in big spots.

If Stroman does not turn it around though, this contract will likely creep up the list of worst deals, as the very high AAV leaves them little room for error.