My last entry highlighted 5 of the top 10 worst contracts and this one will go over the top 5.
5) Barry Zito
Barry Zito was the man in Oakland, but when he signed with the Giants in 2007, he forgot his game on the other side of the bay. He signed a 7 year $126 million contract and has not been worth it one bit. Zito’s last 6 season in Oakland he went 95-50 with his best season in 2002- 23-5 with a 2.75 ERA. Take this and compare it to his 6 season in San Franciso, 58-69 and has not had an ERA lower than 4.03. Zito was big in the playoffs last year but this hardly excuses the poor performances during his tenure by the bay. He has started off the 2013 season very well and will need to pitch very well for the next 2 seasons to earn his $38 million.
4) Johan Santana
Johan has been one of the best left handed pitchers in the majors during the last 10 years. He was great with the Twins and he parlayed that into a massive 6 year $137.5 million contract with the New York Mets. They definitely got their money’s worth from 2008-2010, but then Santana got hurt and missed the entire 2011 season. He tried to come back last year but could only make 21 starts. Last year he was not the same finishing 6-9 with a 4.85 ERA, although he did deliver the first no-hitter in Mets history.
The problem with this is he threw a ton of pitches (134) and after that game he was clearly not the same. He got lit up the rest of the season and then went down in late August with another injury. Santana is also going to miss the entire 2013 season and will be collecting $24 million while he sits out.
3) Philadelphia Phillies
For these last 3 spots, I had to break it down by teams because there are really too many bad contracts to do by themselves. The Phillies are paying out $170 million this season with 8 different players making more than $10 million and 4 guys more than $20 million. Here are the worst of the bunch:
Ryan Howard: He has been slipping big time and he is signed to a 5 year $125$ extension paying him thru the 2017 season. At least he is a great actor, Eat Fresh!
Chase Utley: He’s getting $15 million for this year which is a bit much but Utley still has skills, I only included him so I have an excuse to show this clip.
Jonathan Papelbon: 4 years and $50 million, don’t pay for saves!!!!
Michael Young: The Phillies took a way to expensive flyer on him this year, $18.37 million for a 36 year old third baseman.
The Phillies are also paying Hamels $20.5 million and Halladay $20 million, can I have a job please?
2) New York Yankees
Everyone knows the Yankees have deep pockets, they are paying out a whopping $203 million this year. The Yankees have been doing this for years, the only problem this year is they are paying the wrong guys.
Vernon Wells: I know the Yankees didn’t give him the money but this is one of the worst contracts I have even seen. He signed a 7 year $126 million contract and he is making over $24 million this season. Last year he made $21 million with the Angels, that is $272K per game. Wells stinks but he’s the guy laughing all the way to the bank
Alex Rodriguez: This contract is looking really bad right now. It wasn’t always bad though, he has been a hitting machine and he has made a ton of money for the Yankees. However, the last 2 years have been less than ideal for both sides. A-rod’s health has been eroding along with his skills. During the playoffs last year, this seemed like his last stand. A-rod is now sidelined with a hip injury and going through the more steroid allegations. Did I forget to mention that the Yankees are paying him $29,000,000 this year and they will be paying him over $100 million over the next 4 years, until he’s 42.
Mark Teixeira: 8 years for $180,000,000. Big Tex is wearing down and those 40 homer seasons are gone, now they are giving him $22.5 mil per year until 2016, too bad.
The Yanks are also paying Youkilis, Sabathia, Granderson, Jeter, Cano, Kuroda, Pettitte, and Rivera over $10 mil each. Also, Robinson Cano will be a free agent after this season and if they want to keep him they will have to break the bank, again.
1) Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers new ownership group is on a spending spree and they are spending more money than anyone else in the MLB this year, $220,395,196. Let’s take a look at some of their highest paid players.
The Boston 3
Late last year the Dodgers traded for the 3 worst contracts the Red Sox had, your welcome Boston. These 3 players are Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, and Carl Crawford. I really believe these 3 guys will have solid seasons for LA but they are not worth their enormous contracts.
Adrian Gonzalez: making $21,000,000 per season until 2018.
Josh Beckett: 4 years/$68,000,000
Carl Crawford: 7 years/$142,000,000
The Dodgers are also severely overpaying Zack Greinke ($21,000,000), Ted Lilly ($13,166,667), Hanley Ramirez ($15,500,000), Andre Ethier ($13,000,000) and Juan Uribe, yes that Juan Uribe ($7,295,911). For all these reasons the LA Dodgers are guilty of having the worst contracts in the MLB.
