Call to the pen
Fansided

MLB Free Agency: The five worst contracts in the league

By Kristen Bentley

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 16: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) American League All-Stars Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles, Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers and Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees look on during introductions before the 84th MLB All-Star Game on July 16, 2013 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The American League defeated the National League 3-0. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 16: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) American League All-Stars Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles, Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers and Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees look on during introductions before the 84th MLB All-Star Game on July 16, 2013 at Citi Field in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The American League defeated the National League 3-0. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
(Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

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.

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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