Marlins Video

I agree that Miguel Cabrera has a HOF career resume. Moreover, Marlins fans identify him with their World Championship. But we need to be very real about the unmitigated disaster that his 8-year extension has been. The first year, 2016, was excellent (with a 7.4 WARP) and this would have been the time to move him at his peak value point, setting up the team’s future. Instead, the next seven years, SEVEN, are horrific by consuming a huge percentage of the team’s payroll in one ineffective player and taking up a valuable roster spot. Cabrera SEVEN-YEAR WARP from 2017 to 2023 is 5.1 (less than 0.75/year) at the cost of $216 million! That’s over $43 million for each win above replacement over the last seven years. Forty-three million dollars per over replacement win. Perhaps only Strasburg’s contract is arguably worse in the entire history of baseball. So, this future HOFer leaves the scene with the last SEVEN years of his career as an utter failure, not just mediocrity.  

Joey Votto, another player who may have a HOF case, is another unmitigated disaster for his Reds team. Votto’s ridiculously unwise extension, where he, too, should have been moved at a peak value registers a 7.4 WAR for the last SIX YEARS at a cost of over $150 million (1.23/year over that stretch). Perhaps more than Detroit, Votto’s anemic production has hamstrung his team, effectively flushing those years during which his salary was a preposterous percentage of their total payroll. Votto’s last six-year legacy is $20 million per over replacement wins. Twenty million dollars. Even the New York Mets are paying less than $1.9 million per win in this, their very disappointing season.  

Can anyone argue that these two men did not hamstring their clubs for six or seven seasons? Even if we remove the 2020 season from the equations, there is no redeeming quality. Fans may perceive a future HOF enshrinement as a combination of tangible (team loyalty, merchandise, etc.) and intangible (team reputation, pride, legacy) value. Make no mistake, however, if forced to tell the truth, both teams and their owners would gladly turn the clock back, make a trade, or forego the respective extensions altogether, if they had the chance. Seeing these men enter the HOF with another cap would be just fine when balanced against over $357 million, wasted seasons, and missed opportunities.