MLB Free Agency: The five worst contracts in the league

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As we wonder why so many players in MLB free agency have yet to sign, all we have to do is look at some of the biggest and longest contracts currently in the league.

For several years, MLB free agency has been very kind to players who can hit the most home runs and who can throw the fastest fast balls.

There is no doubt that fanbases have greatly appreciated being able to watch Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Max Scherzer, and Justin Verlander on a daily basis. But, as players like these age, do their contracts – that were once considered reasonable – become unwieldy and absurd?

It depends on the player.

The ten highest contracts in the MLB belong to Giancarlo Stanton, Cabrera, Pujols and Robinson Cano, Joey Votto, David Price, Scherzer, Zack Grienke, Jason Heyward, and Verlander. There is no doubt that these 11 players are some of the best who have ever stepped between the lines. All them have played in numerous All-Star Games. Most have a collection of Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards. There are several MVP and Cy Young winners. And, several have had their fair share of playing time in playoff games.

It is safe to say that many of these players will be first-ballot Hall of Fame candidates. And, many would argue that their contracts are some of the worst in the MLB.

But are they?

Consider Pujols and Cabrera. The two sluggers are currently in second and third place in career hits for active players. Cano is in fourth. Pujols and Cabrera are also first and second in home runs for active players.

The Angels still owe Pujols $87 million for three years and the Tigers owe Cabrera $154 million for five years. But, before their contracts are called the worst in the league, it is important to consider what they have done for the game and for their teams. When it comes to active players, they are in a class all their own – even as they both close in on 40. Therefore, they are not included in the list of the five worst contracts in the MLB.

The same go for the rest of the men who have the 10 highest contracts – with the exception of one player who is extremely overpaid for what he brings to the game. The other terrible contracts belong to players who were incredibly overvalued and did not deliver. These five men have most likely contributed to the slow free-agency signings this off-season and last off-season.

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Of the 10 highest contracts (that are paid to 11 players), this player just doesn’t fit. While he does have a World Series ring and a handful of trophies, he just isn’t the same caliber as the rest of the field.

Unfortunately, he’s also holding back his team from putting a better player in his position. Jason Heyward’s contract is a real albatross.

His awards include one All-Star Game – which was in 2010 – his rookie season. And, he has five Gold Gloves. His fielding is spot on, but not good enough for another Gold Glove in 2018. In fact, his dWAR in 2018 was only 0.1.

Since signing with the Cubs in for the 2016 season, his WAR numbers have dropped significantly. In five seasons with the Braves, his WAR was 23.2. In one season with the Cardinals, his WAR was 6.6. And, in three seasons with the Cubs, his was has been 5.2

Heyward’s big problem is his offense. He’s a career .263/.343/.410 hitter. Since he’s been with the Cubs, his slash has gone down to .252/.322/.367. He’s only hit 26 home runs in his three seasons. Consider other right fielders, like Mitch Haniger, Nicholas Castellanos, or Bryce Harper who hit 26, 23, and 34 home runs in 2018 alone.

With the Braves, he made a little more than $9 million in five seasons. The Cardinals paid him $7.8 million. But, the Cubs have paid him nearly $78 million in three seasons. And, the team still owes him $106 million.

When it comes to the top-10 contract players, what sets them apart is that people actually buy tickets to see them play. People buy tickets to see Max Scherzer pitch – even it if it is against their team. They pay to see Albert Pujols swing the bat.

This isn’t the case with Heyward. When people outside of the Cubs fanbase buy tickets to see the Cubs play, they want to see players like Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, and Anthony Rizzo.

Just imagine who the Cubs could have instead of Heyward. This reason alone is why his contract is one of the worst in the MLB.

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The rivalry between the Red Sox and Yankees goes back over 100 years. Despite the rivalry, when players enter free agency, they sometimes move from one to the other.

And, when those players have struggles on their new teams, the former team’s fan base gets to experience a little joy. This has to be what the Red Sox fans feel every time that Jacoby Ellsbury‘s name is mentioned.

The former Red Sox outfielder has become a true albatross for the Yankees. He spent all of 2018 on the DL with injuries to a hip, a foot, and an oblique. Prior to all of the injuries in the 2018 season, the Yankees worked hard in 2017 to get another team to take on his massive contract. They even offered to pay for a significant part of it.

But, Ellsbury has a full no-trade clause and wants to remain a Yankee.

Yanks still weighing trades for ellsbury and headley. Ellsbury an interesting one. Has full no-trade and doesnt want to leave. Wants to win CF job back. Nyy peeps say job belongs to hicks.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 10, 2017

According to news from MLB.com about Ellsbury, he could be ready to play in 2019. But, do the Yankees have a spot for him? Cashman said about Ellsbury:

“He’ll enter Spring Training as a rehab player. I guess it remains to be seen if he will be a player that we can deploy as early as Opening Day, or is it going to need a little more time? That’s to be determined, but he is supposed to be fully recovered.”

With the Red Sox, Ellsbury hit .297/.350/.439. With the Yankees, he’s hit .264/.330/.386. His stolen bases dropped off after joining the Yankees. He’s also been unable to play a constant number of games. In 2014, he played 149 games. But played 11 in 2015. He repeated this trend in 2016 and 2017 with 148 and 112 games played. And of course, he never took the field in 2018.

Ellsbury is signed with the Yankees through 2021, when the team has a $5 million buy out on him. Prior to that, the Yankees are paying him $21 million annually and have done so since 2014. In his six years with the Red Sox, he made about $21 million total.

Ellsbury been to one All-Star Game, in 2011. That season, he finished second in the MVP vote – Justin Verlander won. Ellsbury also won a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove that same season. Since then, it’s been crickets for him.

At this point, it’s doubtful that the Yankees could even get a box of baseballs for 35-year old Ellsbury. This has to have Red Sox fans feeling mighty fine.

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Good pitching is valuable. But, when previously good pitchers go bad, there is little that can be done with them.

Such is the case with these three pitchers who are locking up a combined $72 million in 2019. These three contracts belong to Yu Darvish, Felix Hernandez, and Jordan Zimmermann. Of these three, the worst contract belongs to Zimmermann, as the Tigers glaringly overpaid for a pitcher who has only had a few solid games while wearing the Old English D.

The trouble with Yu

Despite the disappointing performance of the Tigers pitcher, Darvish’s future could prove to be even worse. Zimmermann enters free agency after the 2020 season. The Mariners have $1 million option for Hernandez. But, the Cubs are on the hook for Darvish through 2023. To make it worse, Darvish has an opt-out in 2019, but if he continues along his declining path, he’d be stupid to actually use it.

The Cubs signed Darvish to a massive six-year contract worth $126 million. After struggling in the 2017 World Series, where he pitched 3.1 innings to an ERA of 21.60, his struggles continued in 2018. He pitched 40.0 innings to an ERA of 4.95 – his highest ERA to date.

His last start with the Cubs was in mid-May, where he was put on the DL for tendinitis in his right triceps. In August, the team revealed that he had a stress reaction in his right elbow along with that strain in his triceps. Whether he will return in 2019 is unknown.

Uninspiring pitching in Detroit

Zimmermann’s performance in Detroit has been uninspiring with the exception of April 2016. During that time, he had five starts and threw an ERA of 0.55. But, that’s been it for him. He had injuries in all of his seasons with the Tigers, most of them because of nerve issues. While he has had occasional innings where he looks like he did with the Nationals, most of his starts have been mediocre at best. The Tigers still owe him $50 million for 2019 and 2020. Ouch.

A shell of his Cy-Young self

Hernandez is another story. He has a Cy Young Award under his belt and six All-Star Games, too. The career Mariner has been good for the game, so his contract is not as bad as the other two pitchers’ contracts. His ERA in 2018 was 5.55 – the worst of his career. Hernandez could be completely worn out. He’ll get $27.8 million from the Mariners in 2019.

These three well-paid pitchers have something to prove in 2019. Hopefully, they’ll pitch to the value of their contracts. But, fans shouldn’t hold their breath that it will actually happen.

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From the Dodgers to the Padres, to the Braves and back to the Dodgers again. This player is almost like a bad cold that keeps getting moved from clubhouse to clubhouse.

Following Matt Kemp and his bloated contract move around the NL is enough to make fans dizzy. How much are the Dodgers and Padres paying him to pay against them? More than they should.

Kemp will be playing in a Cincinnati Reds uniform in 2019, but he will be paid by at least three teams. He’s been making at least $20 million since 2013 and he has been far from the player he was when he signed that bloated contract with the Dodgers.

Yes, he was an All-Star with the Dodgers in 2018, but he still hasn’t been worth the money that the team has paid him to play for them and to play against him. If his contract was good, then the Dodgers wouldn’t have worked so hard to move him.

To make matters worse, he hasn’t done much to help the Dodgers in the post-season. In the 2018 World Series, he batted a miserable .111/.100/.444 in 10 plate appearances.

His WAR numbers over the past few seasons have been tragic. In 2017, he actually registered a negative WAR of -1.3. This was after he posted an even O.0 WAR with the Braves and a 0.3 WAR with the Padres. All while making over $20 million annually. He did post a 1.1 WAR, but is that worth $20+ million? No.

Finally, at the end of the 2019 season, the Dodgers will be off the hook for Kemp. He’ll be 34 through most of the season. If he wants a team to consider him for 2020, he’s going to have to play like his 26-year-old self.

Time is the ultimate winner in any sport. Players have to make adjustments as time ages them. Players who want to stay relevant figure out how to hit, pitch, and field as age makes their bodies more susceptible to injury and fatigue.

Those who don’t adjust become frustrating to their fan bases. Especially when they have contracts like that belonging to Chris Davis of the Orioles. His contract has become the poster child for what not to do as an MLB GM.

Of qualifying batters in 2018, Chris Davis had the worst batting stats in the MLB. And, not by a little bit. Joey Gallo, who is notorious for hitting home runs and not much else, finished the season with a batting average of .208. Davis’s batting average was .168. And, the rest of the slash wasn’t any better: .243/.296 – all three of the slash stats were dead last in the MLB.

Unfortunately, 2018 wasn’t a fluke for Davis. He’s been bad for several years. In 2015 and 2016, he led the AL in strikeouts. In 2017, he hit .215/.309/.423. In 2016, he hit .221/.332/.459.