The slugger endured his poorest season as a Cardinal in his age-36 campaign just as a long-term contract concluded. He had batted .246 with 20 homers and 62 RBIs.
The Yankees nevertheless signed the slugger to the largest one-year free-agent contract for a position player in their history
That was after the 2016 season. That was Matt Holliday for $13 million.
And if it sounds familiar, well, Paul Goldschmidt just endured his poorest season as a Cardinal in his age-36 campaign just as a long-term contract concluded. He batted .245 with 22 homers and 65 RBIs. The Yankees nevertheless signed him to a $12.5 million contract — the second-largest ever (behind Holliday) for one year to a free agent brought in from outside the organization.
