Lucas GiolitoBillie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images
Alex Cobb, RHP, San Francisco Giants ($10M club option exercised)
Tommy Edman, UTIL, St. Louis Cardinals (2-year, $16.5M extension)
Brandon Woodruff, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers (2 years, $17.5M)
Germán Márquez, RHP, Colorado Rockies (2-year, $20M extension)
Tyler Mahle, RHP, Texas Rangers (2 years, $22M)
Robert Stephenson, RHP, Los Angeles Angels (3 years, $33M)
Lucas Giolito, RHP, Boston Red Sox (2 years, $38.5M)
These seven players are in a tier of their own, yet to play in 2024 and thereby providing no return on investment whatsoever.
(That said, their collective 0.0 WAR is better than most of the list.)
Some of the injuries were already known. Woodruff underwent shoulder surgery in October and isn’t expected to pitch in 2024. Both Mahle and Márquez had Tommy John surgeries in mid-May 2023 and aren’t expected back until at least the All-Star Break. With all three, the team made a multi-season investment, hoping it pays off in the long run.
Stephenson and Giolito, on the other hand, suffered season-ending injuries after signing their contracts and before making their regular-season debuts in new threads.
Cobb originally landed on the IL after undergoing hip surgery in November, but now his rehab has been delayed by shoulder soreness. Still no ETA on his 2024 debut.
Edman had wrist surgery in October and was expected to be a full go for spring training, but he kept getting shut down because of lingering pain in that wrist. He has yet to embark upon a rehab assignment, and the Cardinals’ situation in center field has been a complete disaster without him.
