Teams of Major League Baseball has been shelling out incredible amounts of money lately, and this upcoming season and even next season will be the ultimate test of the big money contracts.

Bryce Harper joins fellow players Manny Machado and Nolan Arenado in becoming the highest paid Major League Baseball players of all time.

Harper, who signed with the Philadelphia Phillies on Feb. 28, for a whopping 13-years, worth $330 million, surmounted Giancarlo Stanton’s contract with the Miami Marlins. That contract was also for 13-years however it was worth $325 million.

Before Harper signed, Arenado, third base-man for the Colorado Rockies, signed the highest averaging salary per person contract in MLB history. Arenado signed an 8-year extension of his current contract worth $260 million.

And last but not least, the man that kicked off. Machado signed with the San Diego Padres on Feb. 19 for a total of 10-years worth $300 million.

These contracts solidify these players for possibly for life with their teams however other teams who missed out on signing Machado and Harper created a precedent for their current and even possible future players.

When it came down to the wire, the San Francisco Giants showed their hand with Harper’s offer to join the team. The Giants offered Harper 12-years for $310 million but according to NBC Sports Bay Area, “California tax would have pushed that offer well over $330 million.”

The Giants now may have an upcoming contract talk with their ace, Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner’s interest piqued and rightfully so after seeing what the Giants were willing to offer for Harper. In all honesty, the Giants need to see how stellar Bumgarner performs this upcoming season.

Bumgarner had a rough year last year. Injuries and the low performance were his only highlights from the 2018 season however, this season Bumgarner should have his eyes set out to earn that multi-year and multi-million dollar contract.

When the Machado sweepstakes took place, the Yankees were one of the many teams in talks on signing the infielder however that fell through. If the Yankees offered an insane amount for Machado, they will have to listen to one of their rising stars.

All rise for the honorable Aaron Judge. Judge is currently still under a rookie contract worth $622,300. Aaron Judge has been a threat for teams who play against the 26-year old player. If Judge can break his career highs this season, the Yankees will have no choice but to go into multi-year contract talks. However, there is one player who will be the center of attention in the next couple of years.

Mike Trout, arguably one of the best baseball players in the league, is a potential record breaker. At the moment, Trout is signed throughout the 2020 season and according to rumors, the Los Angeles Angels are considering a contract extension for Trout. The extension is speculated to be 10-years worth $350 million.

CBS Sports has Trout as a heavy favorite candidate that could possibly sign a multi-year contract worth $400 million. However, one issue from this potential contract signing is age. Matter in fact this is an issue for almost all candidates for big time contracts.

These players will age and lose their ability by the time the tail end of their contracts. Teams need to be wary who they offer the big contracts to. However, players need to also earn these contracts. You may be an ace or a star defender but if you cannot consistently perform throughout the years of your contract, you do not deserve the money.

All eyes will be on Harper, Machado and Arenado. Let’s hope the teams made the right investment.