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

The NL Central has a lot of bad contracts, but which 10 are the most egregious in the Cardinals’ division right now?

The St. Louis Cardinals are currently on top of the NL Central and are facing very little competition with the recent fall from grace of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates are in the midst of long rebuild, and are a long way away from contending.

Outside of the Pirates, each of the teams in the NL Central have bad contracts on their roster. Some of these have came in the form of extensions, while others have been swings and misses on the free agent market. What are the 10 worst deals in the division? Our own Greg Simons made a ranking earlier this season, but there have been a lot of shake ups amongst the top 10.

These contracts are ranked on how bad the deals are for this season and beyond, not previous value. These 10 contracts are deals that have not panned out this season or may prevent these teams from going after big names in the future.

10. Mike Minor

The first name on this, Mike Minor is a veteran starter who is expected to provide quality innings at the back of a rotation, and no one expects him to be a top player on their staff. Unfortunately for the Reds, Minor has looked overmatched all season.

Acquired in a trade for Amir Garret prior to the season, Minor is 3-10 with a 5.98 ERA in 16 games so far in 2022. His FIP indicates that his ERA is an accurate reflection of his talent this year, sitting a 5.97 as well. Minor is making $10 million for Cincinnati this year and has a $13 million club option for 2023 with a $1 million buy out. It’s safe to say the Reds will exercise that buyout after the season.

Rebuilding teams will take chances on veterans with bigger contracts in hopes of them overachieving and then being able to flip them for prospects. The Reds missed on this one, making him the 10th worst contract in the division.

9. Yan Gomes

In the offseason, the Cubs signed catcher Yan Gomes to a 2 year, $13 million contract to be the backup to Willson Contreras. With Contreras potentially leaving Chicago in the offseason, Gomes could very well be the Opening Day catcher for the Cubs in 2023.

Catchers are hard to come by, and offensive numbers are not everything, but paying $6.5 million per year this season and next to a 35-year old backstop who is slashing .219/.247/.355 and only appeared in 68 games thus far seems like a major overpay.

Gomes has been a valuable catcher throughout his career, posting a .711 OPS for his career and has consistently put up good defensive bWAR numbers. If the catcher rarely plays though, or when he does, he is can’t hit, then it is hard to justify paying him so much.

The catcher could provide leadership behind the plate next season as Chicago continues to promote prospects and could even be trade bait later on if he turns it around, but for now, this was bad value for Chicago.

8. Paul DeJong

Entering 2022, Paul DeJong was supposed to be the Cardinals everyday shortstop. By the month of May, DeJong had been demoted to AAA Memphis.

Signed to a 6 year, $26 million deal prior to the 2018 season, DeJong is making $6 million this year and $9 million next year, and despite showing flashes upon his return to St. Louis, once again looks like a major burden to the St. Louis payroll.

On the season, DeJong is slashing .160/.253./.319 with 6 HR and 24 RBI. Over his last 15 games, that has dropped even further to .065/.194/.161 for the 29-year old. DeJong still provides great value defensively as a shortstop, but his awful performances at the plate do not justify consistent playing time.

The Cardinals are still hoping he can return to his career average .741 OPS with good defense at the shortstop position, but best case scenario would be a change of scenery.

7. Steven Matz

The Cardinals signed Steven Matz to a 4 year, $44 million deal to be a middle of the rotation, innings eater for the club for this season and beyond. In 7 of his 10 starts this season, he went at least 5 innings while allowing 2 or less runs. Yet, Matz still managed to have a 5.70 ERA and only appear in those 10 games due to injuries.

Matz has had two awful starts this year where he gave up 7 and 8 runs a piece, but otherwise was exactly what the Cardinals paid for in his other starts. The front office still wouldn’t like to see two horrific starts like that in just 10 games of work, but it is encouraging for the future of his contract that his other starts were up to par.

The issue facing Matz is the combination of his injuries, age, and total money left on the deal. If Matz does not put it together in future seasons, the club would have spent $44 million on age 31-34 seasons for a middle of the rotation starter who did not stay on the field or blew up in too many starts.

Matz’s deal is too early to tell for sure where he will land, but at this current moment, his deal looks to be another miss from St. Louis. He can change the narrative on that if he can return this season and/or produce in 2023 and beyond, but has not looked good to this point.

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.

4. Mike Moustakas

Cincinnati appeared to have a formidable lineup in 2020 with the accusation of Mike Moustakas on a 4 year, $64 million deal with a club option for 2025. Since the pandemic shortened season though, Moustakas has struggled to be the slugger that the Reds paid him to be.

In 2022, the 33-year old is slashing .214/.295/.345 with 7 HR and 25 RBI in just 78 games played for the club. He used to boast versatility at first base, third base, and second base, but has mostly been a designated hitter in 2022 and has been limited to the corner infield when he has played defensively. Below average defense mixed with .640 OPS on $16 million this year is brutal.

Moustakas was recently moved to the 60-day IL which will effectively end his 2022 season. Injuries have been a huge issue for Moustakas as a Red, and have kept him from ever finding a groove when he is healthy.

With regression beginning back in 2021, it is hard to believe that at age 34, Moustakas will live up to the $18 million bill he will bring to Cincinnati next season. If Moustakas gets off to a slow start, do not be surprised if he is DFA’d by the club like Cain was by Milwaukee this season.

3. Joey Votto

The 2010 National League MVP has been a staple of the Reds since his first full season in 2008, leading to a 10 year, $225 million extension in 2014 for the first baseman.

Despite the Reds fall from grace in recent years, Votto has quietly remained one of the best hitters in baseball until this season. In 2021, he posted a .938 OPS and finished 16th in the MVP voting. In 2022 though, he’s slashing .205/.319/.370 with 11 HR and 41 RBI in 91 games for the last place Reds.

While Votto has the pure hitting ability and experience to be a capable hitter in 2023, his $25 million salary is just far too much for what he can offer at this point in his career. The Reds will likely have him play out his last year of his deal before declining his club option in 2024, unless they decide to eat a large chunk of his salary in a trade.

It is pretty impressive how long Votto was able to remain a valuable player, but it is clear that he is now finally past his prime and declining rapidly.

2. Jason Heyward

There is a strong argument for Jason Heyward to be number one on this list, as the Cubs are going to be paying him $22 million in 2023 to not even play for them. 

Heyward, formerly of the Braves and Cardinals, signed with the Cubs before their 2016 World Series campaign and has massively underperformed his 8 year, $184 million deal. When signing with the Cubs, he sighted the young core of the club as a major draw for him. The Cardinals “old core” has outlasted both Heyward and that core he cited.

In 2022, Heyward has slashed .202/.278/.277 while appearing in just 48 games for Chicago. He is still a capable defender in the outfield, but has not had an OPS over .627 since 2020. He’ll likely get a shot as a fourth outfielder on another team next year, but he will never be the guy that the league thought he’d develop into.

For Chicago, it makes sense to let Heyward walk in order to free up playing time for young guys. But it is still an awful contract to eat and will surely frustrate ownership.

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.