Projecting a Cam Newton contract equivalent in MLB’s offseason

5. Mike Pelfrey: $5,500,000

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

If there is one thing Mike Pelfrey has been since entering the league in 2006 with the New York Mets after being a first round draft pick in 2005, he’s had a knack for eating unspectacular innings.

A lifetime ERA of 4.45 should not equate to over 190 starts in a career for someone only 31 years of age. But then again, why shouldn’t it? We’ve seen teams overpay time and time again for pitchers who consistently throw more than 180 innings in a season or log 30-plus starts. Pelfrey accomplished a combination of one or the other in four of his first six seasons as a Major Leaguer.

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Now having a career year, Pelfrey is 4-2 with a 2.59 ERA through 10 starts and looks well on his way to logging 180 innings and over 30 starts for the fifth time in his career. He actually managed to start 29 games in 2013, his first season as a Twin after signing a one-year, $4 million deal. I used the word ‘managed’ because he went 5-13 and had an ERA of 5.19. Even stranger perhaps was the Twins then chose to extend him from 2014-2015 with a somewhat controversial two-year, $11 million deal.

2014 was a wreck, as Pelfrey went 0-3 with a 7.99 ERA before being shut down for the year with a chorus of injuries. The fact remains though, that MLB overpays for starting pitchers who can make it through entire seasons on the mound. Pelfrey will only be 32, so that easily qualifies him for a long-term deal. General managers might also place too much emphasis on his 2015 season if he keeps it up. That could change as it’s only June, but money is the biggest motivator, and it seems to be doing just that for Pelfrey right now.

Pelfrey is not going to command the type of money David Price or Johnny Cueto will, but his age and durability should put him in a class with a pitcher like Mark Buehrle. As a 33-year-old, the Marlins threw $58 million at him over four years. The Jays acquired him with three seasons remaining on that deal, but he’s a soft throwing ground ball pitcher just like Pelfrey and probably is not worth his $20 million salary in 2015.

Next: 4. Matt Wieters