A whopping 1.4 trillion won was spent on four infielders who had never won an MVP award. Among the four, there is no name for Nolan Arenado (31, St. Louis), who is considered the best third baseman in the Major League (ML).
Arenado was selected by Colorado in the second round of the 2009 draft and debuted in 2013. From his debut season to this year, he won the Third Baseman Gold Glove for 10 consecutive years, Silver Slugger 5 times, and MVP 5th place three times, and is called the best third baseman in both ball and defense.
In Colorado, he signed an eight-year, $260 million 토토 (approximately 338.4 billion won) extension before the 2019 season. He left a chance to hit the jackpot by setting the condition of opting out after the 2021 and 2022 seasons. However, he was a little late in rebounding after transferring to St. Louis in 2021. In 2020, which was a shortened 60-game season, injuries overlapped and only had a batting average of 0.253 and an OPS of 0.738 in 48 games. Last year, his first season in St. Louis, he recorded a batting average of 0.255, 34 home runs, 105 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.807, but it was somewhat disappointing.
This year, the second year since his transfer, he finally showed an activity worthy of his reputation. With a batting average of 0.293, 30 homers, 103 RBI, and an OPS of 0.891 in 148 games, he swept the third baseman Silver Slugger and Gold Glove, and was ranked third in the National League MVP.
If you only go to the market, you can expect another super-large contract. He gave up his final opt-out right and blew that opportunity himself. There was a saying that he was satisfied with St. Louis, but there was also an evaluation that he made a stable choice rather than gambling. He can earn 144 million dollars (approximately 187.4 billion won) even if he digests only the remaining contracts, but if you look at the all-time money feast that took place this month, Arena seems to feel regret.
This is because quasi-class infielders are hitting the jackpot every day. On the 6th, shortstop Trey Turner (29, Philadelphia) started off with 300 million dollars (approximately 390.4 billion won) in 11 years. This was followed by Xander Bogatz (30, San Diego) with 280 million dollars (approximately 364.3 billion won) in 11 years, Carlos Correa (28, San Francisco) with 350 million dollars (approximately 455.4 billion won) in 13 years, and Dansby Swanson (approximately 455.4 billion won). 28, Chicago Cubs) also succeeded in transferring all of them for 7 years and 177 million dollars (approximately 230.3 billion won). 1,440.4 billion was spent on only four people.
All of them are players who can double as third base, and it is evaluated that their ransom has risen significantly as competition between clubs has increased. Bogatz has a batting average of 0.292, 156 homers, 683 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.814, and his strength is steady performance, but he has never won a Gold Glove Award or been in the top 3 MVP. Correa, a former rookie of the year, batting average of 0.279, 155 home runs, 553 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.836, was a combined offense and defense shortstop, but was ranked in the top 5 MVP only once. In the case of Swanson, with a batting average of 0.255, 102 home runs, 411 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.738, he won a large contract worth more than 200 billion won despite being a defensive shortstop who won the Gold Glove for the first time this year.
In the offseason next year, third baseman Rafael Devers (26, Boston), shortstop Javier Baez (30, Detroit), and Manny Machado (30, San Diego), who can opt out, are expected to have another money feast as free agents. . Of course, it’s a different story for Arenado, who chose to stay two months ago.