MLB: 5 overvalued/undervalued players entering 2015
By Will Osgood
1B Paul Goldschmidt Arizona Diamondbacks
Contract: 5 years, $32 million ($6.4 million/year)
So you’re telling me the runner-up for the 2013 NL MVP makes just $6.4 million?
Riiiiight.
Right? What?
His name is Paul Goldschmidt, and yes, he is the proud owner of the runner-up to Andrew McCutchen in 2013 for the NL MVP. He beat out McCutchen and every other hitter in the senior circuit that year, belting 36 home runs, causing 125 runners to dash safely past home plate, while leading the league with a .551 slugging percentage and .952 OPS.
He also led the league in total bases with 332, and intentional walks with 19. Oh, one more thing, he won a Gold Glove. In 2014, Goldschmidt missed 53 games, primarily due to a fractured left hand suffered on August 1 against Ernesto Frieri and the Pirates.
His season wasn’t quite as impressive as 2013, but he was still very close to a .400 OBP, and his .542 slugging percentage, obviously wasn’t too different from in 2013. It wasn’t his fault the Diamondbacks stunk.
If anything, his presence in the lineup was the only band-aid for a team that otherwise would have resembled The Bad News Bears. The D-Backs probably won’t be much better in 2015, but a healthy Goldschmidt would give them hopes they could at least near .500 on the year.
How about that, a guy making $6.4 million a season might carry a team only half figuratively, on his back to a respectable record.
Next: Pirates went thrift shopping this offseason to get a legitimate Russell Martin replacement