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MLB Free Agency: Players who could rebuild their value with one-year deals

By Joey Brasch

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 30: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals bats against the Colorado Rockies in the ninth inning of a game at Coors Field on September 30, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 30: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals bats against the Colorado Rockies in the ninth inning of a game at Coors Field on September 30, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
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MLB free agency
CLEVELAND, OH – SEPTEMBER 21: Cleveland Indians third baseman Josh Donaldson (27) at bat during the seventh inning of the Major League Baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians on September 21, 2018, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

A number of players in MLB free agency this year could benefit from taking a one-year deal.

There has long been a discussion of the hypothetical player who is so confident in his skills that he takes one-year deals every single year to maximize his earning potential. It’s long been known that when, for example, the Mariners offer $24 million per year to Robinson Cano in a deal that will go into his 40s, they don’t expect him to be worth $24 million as a 41-year-old, but they are basically paying him long-term for his short-term production. But if a player only asked for one year, teams would be able to offer more money without having to worry about his future decline.

Nevertheless, the bargaining chip of future security that a team can offer a player ultimately makes it so that an elite player makes less than his true market value. Fangraphs has a tool that creates a dollar figure for a player-season based on his WAR and the average cost of a win on the free agent market. Based on this figure, Mike Trout was worth $78.5 million to the Angels in 2018, yet Trout made just north of $34 million in 2018, since he was willing to take the long-term security of a six-year. $144.5 million deal before the 2014 season.

One so far

The closest thing there is to the idea of a player taking one-year deals every season is the idea of the “pillow contract,” where a player takes a one-year deal with the hope of re-establishing his value for the next offseason. This was in the news last week when 2015 AL MVP Josh Donaldson signed a one-year, $23 million deal with the Atlanta Braves.

Donaldson is not far removed from MVP form, but after a 2018 season where he only played 52 games and wasn’t quite himself when he was on the field. Donaldson is hoping to improve his stock and get a big deal after the 2019 season. Let’s take a look at some other players who could rebuild their value by taking a one-year deal and re-entering free agency next year.

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