Paul Goldschmidt is the Best Bargain in Baseball

With a club-friendly deal through 2018, Paul Goldschmidt is baseball’s best bargain. Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Paul Goldschmidt has many titles.  He is the face of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He will be a National League All Star Starter. He is a husband. Add one more title to his resume.  He is the best bargain in baseball.  His 2014 salary pays him $1.1 million dollars and the most money he will earn in one season during the course of his current contract will be $11.1 million dollars…..in 2018. There is a team option in 2019 for $14.5 million dollars, still a great price for one of baseball’s best players.

There is one catch: for 2014, Mike Trout, at $1 million dollars, is the game’s best bargain. However, in 2016 his number goes to $15.25 million and in 2018 it jumps to $33.2 million, or more than double what Goldschmidt will earn. Trout is great but is he that much better than the Snakes’ best player? Probably not.  With the help of baseballplayersalaries.com, I was able to type in various players and compare their money to what Goldschmidt is currently being paid. The more players you type in, the more you realize that without a shadow of a doubt, the best move Kevin Towers has made as GM of the D’backs was signing the slugging first baseman to that contract when he did. Here are some big names of baseball and their ridiculously inflated salaries for 2014:

Mark Teixeira-$22,500,000

Albert Pujols-$23,000,000

Robinson Cano-$24,000,000

Ryan Howard-$25,000,000

Josh Hamilton-$17,000,000

To be fair, four of these guys signed long term deals at the earliest two years ago. They are also older and for the most part, have seen their better days. However, each of their dollars dwarfs Goldschmidt and none of them have numbers that are close to his. Now let’s look at some guys who are around his age and with similar production:

Freddie Freeman-$5,120,000

Andrew McCutchen-$7,250,000

Evan Longoria-$7,500,000

Buster Posey-$12,500,000

Jose Abreu-$7,000,000

I included Abreu on this list because of his age and experience playing in Cuba. All of these guys are bargains themselves considering that they represent some of the best talent at their positions. Freeman is two years younger than Goldschmidt and signed an eight year extension before the season started. He will earn over $20 million annually starting in 2017. McCutchen agreed to a six year extension prior to the 2012 season much like Goldschmidt’s signing a year later. He will become a free agent after 2017 with that season’s salary at $14 million, still a low number for the Pittsburgh superstar. Posey will begin making in excess of $20 million per season starting with the 2016 season. Longoria signed two salary-friendly deals with the Rays.  They include a six year agreement two weeks after he broke into the Majors and a six year, $100 million dollar one after the 2012 season. That contract runs through the 2022 season with the highest figure being $19.5 million dollars.

If Paul Goldschmidt continues his torrid production, what are the odds that the D’backs tear up the current deal and pay him more on par with his peers? Or does he continue being baseball’s best bargain from now (assuming good health) until the end of his deal?