Listing the 10 worst MLB contracts for the 2023 season

Apr 29, 2022; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 29, 2022; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner (40) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
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Oct 4, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada (10) celebrates with Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito (27) after scoring against the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 4, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox third baseman Yoan Moncada (10) celebrates with Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Lucas Giolito (27) after scoring against the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Yoan Moncada of the Chicago White Sox has one of the worst MLB contracts

The Chicago White Sox signed Yoán Moncada to a five-year, $70 million extension following a breakout 2019 season where he hit .315/.367/.548 for a 140 OPS+ with 34 doubles, 25 home runs and 5.2 WAR in 132 games.

His performance has been up and down in the years since, and the 2022 season was a clear down. He hit only .212 with a 76 OPS+ and 0.9 WAR in 104 games while missing time with quad and hamstring injuries.

His batted-ball data provides little in the way of optimism, as his hard-hit rate (33rd percentile), average exit velocity (43rd percentile), xBA (12th percentile) and xwOBA (18th percentile) were all well below his career marks.

Moncada has all the talent in the world, but without any consistency to his game of late, it’s difficult to assess whether he’ll truly be worth his 2023 salary of $17.8 million.