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The $20 million salary club used to be a small group. Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez were two of the pioneers in this movement over ten years ago now. Since then the type of contracts given to MLB players have become significantly inflated. This season 14 players are being paid at least $20 million.
However, not all of these players are worth the money. All you need to do is just look at the top four: Rodriguez, Vernon Wells, Johan Santana, and Mark Teixeira. The only one who is even playing currently is Wells, and he’s a borderline MLB player right now. Very few people believe that Ryan Howard, Roy Halladay, or even Joe Mauer are worth that sort of cash either.
Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford both are in the elite club after signing contracts with the Boston Red Sox. Both were disasters in Boston uniforms and aren’t exactly earning their money. So the Red Sox should tread very carefully before considering signing a player again for this much money.
I sincerely hope the Red Sox are strongly considering paying Dustin Pedroia this type of money, because he’s well worth it. The All-Star second baseman and former AL MVP has shown time and time again that he should be paid amongst the elite players in the game. So it was encouraging to hear this week that Red Sox management is currently working on a deal that would pay Pedroia $20 million per year for five or six years.
Some may say that this is too much money, but I whole heartedly disagree. Pedroia is the best all around second baseman in the game. He doesn’t have the power of Robinson Cano, but his speed, hustle, defense, and unique ability to both drive runs in and score them himself makes him an invaluable asset to the team.
Pedroia is still young (29), is currently in the midst of an MVP-caliber season, and is the heart and soul of the Boston Red Sox. The de facto captain needs to be signed to a long term extension that pays him above market value for the sake of the franchise. It would be a wise investment.
Follow Aidan Kearney on Facebook @Aidan FromWorcester and on Twitter @aidanfromworc.
