Corey Seager's contract considered a steal after recent Vlad Jr. contract

Early Sunday morning, news broke that superstar first baseman Vladimir Gurrerero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays reached a contract extension entering what would have been the right-handers free agent walk year.

The 14-year, $500 million deal secures the now forever Blue Jay one of the richest contracts in Major League Baseball, only trailing the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto.

Four years ago, 27-year-old Corey Seager signed his decade long $325 million deal to become the new face of the Texas Rangers rebuild alongside middle infielder Marcus Semien, who was signed the day before.

At the time, Seager's contract was one of the highest in baseball and entering the 2025 season was tied for the tenth highest contract among active MLB players. However, the Guerrero Jr. deal reportedly agreed to on Monday knocked Seager out of the top 10.

Since Seager signed his deal, free agent and extension contracts have skyrocketed the prices of superstar talent. Aaron Judge signed a long-term deal with the New York Yankees for $360 million one offseason later, while Ohtani and Soto signed their massive contracts worth $700 and $760 million respectively over the last two MLB offseasons.

Ohtani delievered his contract in year one with the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the 2024 World Series, while Judge got close but still has yet to deliver a World Series to the Bronx. Seager on the other hand was instrumental in delivering the franchise's first World Series title in his second year as their starting shortstop.

Seager is now 30 years old and at the start of 11th big league season. In 402 games as a Texas Ranger, Seager is slashing .278/.348/.510 with 97 home runs, 254 RBIs, 87 doubles and an .869 OPS. The shortstop also hasn't recorded a season of fewer than 30 home runs since joining the Rangers.

This is no knock on any other player to sign big deals after Seager. They are great players and getting the money equal to what the market says and what the team's see their value as.

But why I think the Seager deal is a steal four years later is Seager's ability to win and perform in clutch situations. Ohtani and Soto are certified winners, having one World Series ring each but Seager has two rings and was the World Series MVP in both of them.

His legendary run in 2020 with the Dodgers gave LA their first championship since the 1980s and his heroics in 2023 delivered Texas's first ever championship.

Now Seager is 30 years old and is not going to get the massive payday as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. received but if Seager was 27 and on the market today, he could easily make $500 million. A player of Seager's caliber is a candidate to be one of the best players in the league and only making $32.5 million a year is a massive steal for Texas and a face of the franchise in this era of baseball.

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