Cincinnati Reds: Ranking the value of contracts signed to avoid arbitration

3. Trevor Bauer, Starting pitcher

2020 salary: $17.5M

Trevor Bauer has the opportunity to climb all the way up to No. 1 on this list if he pitches up to his ability. That didn’t happen last year after the Cincinnati Reds acquired Bauer in a three-team deal involving the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians. The Reds sent Yasiel Puig to Cleveland and top prospect Taylor Trammell to San Diego.

Bauer, who was 9-8 with the Indians with a 3.79 ERA through 24 starts, fell well short of expectations in the 10 games he played for the Reds last year. Bauer went 2-5 with a 6.39 ERA in 56.1 innings of work after his trade to Cincinnati. However, Bauer’s FIP was 4.85, a difference of 1.54, suggesting that he may have been a bit unlucky.

Trevor Bauer has an elite repertoire of pitches and has electric stuff. The talent is certainly there, and we’ve seen that he can put it all together. In 2018 with Cleveland, Bauer went to the All-Star Game and finished sixth in the AL Cy Young chase while going 12-6 with a 2.21 ERA in 28 games. If Bauer plays up to that level, he’ll more than exceed the value of his contract for next season.

Bauer’s $17.5M deal surpasses the $17M contract that Jacob deGrom agreed to last offseason. In fact, the only arbitration eligible pitcher to ever sign a more lucrative deal was David Price ($19.75M) in 2015. Bauer may enter the 2020 season as the team’s No. 3 starter, but he’ll be paid like an ace, and may very well reach that level by the end of the season.