Best bang for your buck: revealing shortstop free agent values vs Cardinals

Seven All-Star caliber shortstops have been signed recently, and the Cardinals passed on each one of them. Were they wise to run with who they already had?

St. Louis Cardinals v Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals v Pittsburgh Pirates | Justin Berl/GettyImages
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Trea Turner

One of the most athletic players in baseball, Trea Turner is known primarily for his bat. His OPS+ is consistently over 120 and has topped out at 162. He was a stud for many years for the Washington Nationals, but he was traded to the Dodgers mid-season in 2021. Following the 2022 season, Turner was signed by the Phillies to a massive 11-year/$300 million contract.

Trea Turner has earned $73 million for his career, and he has been worth 32.8 WAR in his short, seven-year career. Fangraphs has his free agent value set at $262 million. His surplus value is $189 million.

Trea Turner, according to Fangraphs, has been the most valuable of the shortstops up to this point, slightly surpassing Xander Bogaerts.