Everyone becomes Jerry Maguire during the MLB offseason. Saying “Show me the money!” to their teams in order to sign the best free agents. But after all the pomp and circumstance, how many blockbuster deals are successful? Even if stars had the fanbase at “Hello”, it doesn’t take long to lose that trust. Players like Carlos Rodon can attest to that.

So who were some of the recent big-money pitchers of the previous years that couldn’t perform in a way that suited their price tag? Why are pitchers always such a risky bet?

Blockbuster underperformers – Carlos Rodon, Jacob deGrom and more

The league has seen an unfortunate number of pitchers whose performances have gone down right after signing big contracts in recent years. Injuries pile up right when things are starting to go well. Perhaps that’s why Jim Bowden of The Athletic is warning clubs about offering big money.

2023 is the year of pitchers but it never hurts to be careful.

Carlos Rodon

The New York Yankees’ ace signed a six-year contract worth $162 million in 2022. Carlos Rodon began the season injured and had to wait till July to debut. Even after that, his performances were quite below par. In one game he gave up 8 runs in one inning without any outs, making him a huge disappointment. Bronx fans were even more hurt by this turn of events because Rodon was the only major signing in the 2022 offseason, apart from the captain.

Jacob deGrom

Two-time Cy Young award-winning pitcher Jacob deGrom joined the Texas Rangers with much fanfare. He signed a 5-year contract worth $185 million in 2022, and things were going well for him with 6 starts and a 2.67 ERA. But then he tore the UCL in his right elbow. This led to him going for Tommy John surgery and missing out on the World Series-winning season of the Lone Stars.

Stephen Strasburg

The 2019 World Series MVP was going through a historic period when he signed a 7-year, $245 million contract with the Washington Nationals. His AAV of $35 million was at the time the largest for a pitcher. Everyone thought he’d continue his amazing form for the Nats for years to come, but fate had different plans. He played only 2 games in 2020, started only 5 in 2021, 1 in 2022, and none in 2023. His nerve-related issues have gone so bad that he was rumored to be retiring soon.

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Chris Sale

The 2018 World Series champion and one of the greatest pitchers of the modern era was breaking records till 2019. That was when he signed a five-year, $145 million contract with the Boston Red Sox. After that he’s had such a string of injuries and illnesses, that even the then CBO of the Red Sox Chaim Bloom wanted to find the “Chris Sale Voodoo doll” in order to heal the ace.

Sometimes bad luck comes right when good time starts. They know it better than anyone else. Still with baseball being so unpredictable, hopefully, this year’s blockbuster deals do not meet the same fate.

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