Kolten Wong gained financial security with a $25.5 million, five-year deal on Wednesday while the St. Louis Cardinals added cost certainty to a roster built on the value of sabermetrics.
Unlike NFL contracts, where only the signing bonus is guaranteed, MLB deals are guaranteed whether a player’s production declines and he’s released or suffers a career-ending injury.
The 25-year-old second baseman’s contract buys out his three years of salary arbitration and one year of free agency.
When MLB organizations study Wins Above Replacement numbers, from sites such as FanGraphs or Baseball-Reference, they’re projecting how valuable each player is and compares to others.