4 Players Christian Yelich Screwed Most With His Strange Deferred Contract

The Milwaukee Brewers wisely decided to lock up superstar outfielder Christian Yelich, as they signed him to a nine-year contract extension that will keep him a Brewer for essentially the entire next decade. That was expected.

What wasn't expected was the fact that Yelich chose to have some of his payments deferred until 2042, when he'll be be 50 years old. That move decreased the average annual value of the deal, and might have caused a major problem for these four stars when it comes time to hammer out a contract for them.

4. Francisco Lindor

Lindor is currently embroiled in a contract dispute with the Cleveland Indians, and the two parties seem destined for an ugly divorce after Lindor claimed that he would refuse to take a hometown discount. With a player like Yelich willing to take less and defer payments, Lindor getting "what he's worth", especially from a penny-pinching organization like Cleveland, could prove extremely difficult.

3. Javier Baez

Baez has made it clear that he is not looking to Yelich's deal as a barometer of what he should expect to ask for in his next deal, but you can bet the Chicago Cubs will try to sway him on a similar contract. Baez's next deal will make him one of the highest-paid infielders in the league, but the 'MLB The Show' cover boy might see the amount of money he makes up front every year less than what he originally envisioned, as the Yelich deal has set a dangerous precedent for the market.

2. Cody Bellinger

If anyone in the NL not named Yelich deserves to get paid, it's the guy who stole the 2019 NL MVP from him. Bellinger is clearly the queen on the Dodgers' chessboard, and he is in line for what could be a monster deal that breaks records across the entire history of the sport. Then again, Andrew Friedman could look at what Milwaukee did with Yelich and try that same thing with Bellinger. If he doesn't reciprocate that desire, things could get ugly in negotiations.

1. Aaron Judge

Judge is a power-hitting corner outfielder who plays excellent defense on a team that expects to compete for division titles every year for the next decade. Given Judge's potential, marketing power, and the fact that he plays in New York, the Yankees will likely give him a deal that is equal to or greater than the value of Yelich's contract. However, you can bet the Yankees will at least consider deferring some of the money after the Brewers did it with Yelich and the Nationals tried it with Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon.