Buyers remorse? A post-Black Friday ranking of MLBs 10 worst contracts
Ever ventured out on Black Friday and gone a bit overboard? Perhaps you return home, unpack all your bags and realize you don’t need half of what you bought. Maybe some of those sales weren’t such great deals after all. Maybe you gifted your cousin a 30-percent-off blender at the holidays only to see them react with complete disinterest.
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There’s a version of the holiday rush that applies to major-league baseball teams, too. The hot stove often comes with buyer’s remorse. This year, some of the sport’s worst deals (the Reds’ 10-year, $225 million extension with Joey Votto, the Tigers’ eight-year, $248 million extension with Miguel Cabrera, even the Yankees’ ill-fated four-year, $92 million deal with Josh Donaldson) mercifully came off the books.
There are still plenty of deals out there that seem acceptable now but could age poorly — Xander Bogaerts in San Diego, Trea Turner in Philadelphia, even World Series hero Corey Seager in Texas, for starters. But there are more complete clunkers nearing their ends, as well as existing deals quickly coming into focus as mistakes.
Here, then, are the worst contracts in baseball, deals these teams might just wish they could take back and exchange for something a bit nicer.
Honorable mentions
Andrew Benintendi, Chicago White Sox (Four years, $66.4 million remaining)
Yoán Moncada, Chicago White Sox (one year, $24.8 million remaining)
José Berríos, Toronto Blue Jays, (Five years, $104.6 million remaining)
Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies, (Three years, $60 million remaining)
Carlos Correa, Minnesota Twins (Five years, $166.7 million remaining, with vesting options for 2029-32)
Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers (Five years, $130 million remaining)
Wander Franco, Tampa Bay Rays (Nine years, $176.1 million remaining, with $25 million club option for 2033)
A quick note before we dive into the real messes: There are a lot of deals in baseball that go bad. If not for a bounceback this season, Yelich’s deal with the Brewers would be a slam dunk on this list. He’s still under contract for a long time. Correa is highly popular in Minnesota but was worth only 1.1 fWAR last season. Berríos rebounded from an awful 2022 and posted a 3.65 ERA in 2023, a reminder that these things can be fluid in ways both good and bad.
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As for Franco, he may belong in his own category. He is among the most talented young players in the sport but remains under investigation for an alleged relationship with a minor. After signing the largest contract in Rays’ history, his future in the sport is now uncertain.
Original deal: Five years, $185 million
2024: $40 million
2025: $40 million
2026: $38 million
2027: $37 million
2028: $37 million (mutual option)
The Rangers signed deGrom last offseason knowing they were gambling on his health. Turns out their $185 million bet lost in quick fashion. deGrom made only six starts for the Rangers last season before going on the injured list and undergoing his second Tommy John surgery. He isn’t expected to return to the majors until at least August of 2024. The Rangers will have paid deGrom $70 million for a handful of starts. There is of course elite potential for deGrom when he returns to health, but there’s no way to predict how a pitcher will respond after a second UCL reconstruction. There’s a lot of money left on this deal for a pitcher who hasn’t thrown more than 92 innings in a season since 2019.
9. Carlos Rodón
Carlos Rodon’s first year in pinstripes was ugly. (Vincent Carchietta / USA TODAY)Original deal: Six years, $162 million
2024: $27 million
2025: $27 million
2026: $27 million
2027: $27 million
2028: $27 million
In his final start of the season, New York’s $162 million lefty faced eight batters and retired none of them. It was a poetic ending for a big contract off to a terrible start. Rodón started this year on the injured list with a forearm strain and did not appear for the Yankees until July. He went on to post an atrocious 6.85 ERA in 14 starts. Rodón has battled injuries throughout his career, but he earned his big payday with All-Star seasons in 2021 and 2022. As he dives into his 30s, it’s worth wondering if Rodon can come close to justifying his salary. He blew a kiss at heckling fans in July and turned his back on his pitching coach during a mound visit in that final start.
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“We all know the Yankees invested a considerable amount of money in me,” he said, “and I’ve got to prove my worth.”
Original deal: Five years, $145 million
What’s left
2024: $27.5 million
2025: $20 million (vesting option requiring top 10 in Cy Young voting and not finishing the season on the IL)
Sale was once among the game’s best pitchers. Every now and then, we still see flashes of Sale at his best. But he has spent the majority of the five-year extension he signed in 2019 on the injured list. Sale is 34, but it would be easy to assume he is older. He missed all of 2020, threw only 42.2 innings in 2021 and 5.2 innings in 2022. Things were a bit better this past season … until he went on the injured list with shoulder inflammation in June. Sale had a 4.30 ERA and was worth 2.1 fWAR in 2023. But his contract has largely been a bust because of health. Next year will likely be his last in Boston, but the Red Sox have already tabbed him as their Opening Day starter for 2024. “It’s the first time in a long time I’ve been able to be excited for an offseason and not going into it with (an injury), so it’s a good start,” he said in September.
Original deal: Six years, $140 million
What’s left
2024: $35 million
Patrick Corbin’s ERA over the past three seasons: 5.75. That pretty much tells the story of a contract gone wrong. The Nationals won the World Series in the first season of their six-year deal with Corbin in 2019. It has all been downhill from there. Since the start of 2020, Corbin has literally been the worst pitcher in baseball. He ranks last among qualifying players in ERA (5.62), second worst in WHIP (1.55) and has given up more hits (697) than any other pitcher in the league. The good news: 2024 will be the final year of the 34-year-old Corbin’s contract.
Original deal: Six years, $140 million
What’s left
2024: $22.5 million
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2025: $22.5 million
2026: $25 million (opt out)*
2027: $25 million
*If Story opts out after 2025, the Red Sox can opt back in by activating an additional $25 million in 2028
Sure, there could still be hope for Story in Boston. But things are not off to a good start. Story played only 94 games in 2022, hitting .238 with a .303 on-base percentage. Fears of arm issues came to fruition when he had an internal brace procedure on his UCL last winter. Story hit only .203 for the Red Sox in 43 games after his return. Story’s defense, however, has been excellent, and he has expressed confidence about his arm strength returning. Still, the Red Sox will hope for a full season and perhaps a return to form from Story in 2024. If not, the rest of this deal could be doomed.
Some still hold out hope that Javy Báez could bounce back. (Rick Osentoski / USA TODAY)Original deal: Six years, $140 million
What’s left
2024: $25 million
2025: $25 million
2026: $24 million
2027: $24 million
The Story contract does not look so bad in comparison with Báez’s deal. The two shortstops signed for identical amounts in the star-studded class of the 2021-22 offseason. And while Story has been injured, Báez has played in 280 games over the past two seasons and been the second-worst qualifying hitter in the league with a 75 wRC+ over that time. Báez still grades out well in the field and can make magical plays as easily as ever, but he also leads MLB with 45 errors over the past two seasons. The free-swinging Báez has actually cut down his strikeout rate but remains prone to chasing outside the zone. He’s also seen his power zapped and has struggled to hit fastballs. Báez did not exercise the opt-out written in his contract after this past season, so the Tigers are stuck with him for four more years. Is there any reason to believe things could get better?
Original deal: Seven years, $182 million
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What’s left
2024: $27 million
2025: $26 million
2026: $26 million
2027: $26 million
2028: $26 million
Another member of the 2016 Cubs has quickly faded into obscurity. The Rockies always seemed like a strange landing place for Bryant, who was the National League’s Rookie of the Year in 2015 and MVP in 2016. What was on track to be a historic career has since veered off course. Bryant has battled his share of injuries and played only 122 games over two seasons with the Rockies. His offensive production was still there in 2022, but he had a 73 wRC+ and was worth -1.2 fWAR in 2023. A clean bill of health could help Bryant rebound, but it’s beginning to seem unlikely he will ever reach the heights of his younger days again. Problem is the Rockies will be paying him the salary of a higher-caliber player for five more seasons.
Original deal: 13 years, $325 million
What’s left
2024: $32 million
2025: $32 million
2026: $29 million*
2027: $25 million*
2028: $25 million (club option)*
*Marlins will pay $10M
This one has been in the news lately. “I’m not going to tell you he’s gonna play every game next year because he’s not,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said at baseball’s general manager’s meetings. “He’s gonna wind up getting hurt again, more likely than not, because it seems to be part of his game.” That is not exactly what you want to hear an executive saying about a player due to make $118 million in guaranteed money over the next four seasons. Truth is Stanton has played only 63 percent of possible regular season games since he was traded from the Marlins before the 2018 season. He still has power and can still post incredible exit velocities. But last season he hit only .191, and his .695 OPS was the worst of his career. Stanton can hardly play the outfield, but he has to produce better to justify being a DH only. We saw the Yankees eat money to get rid of Josh Donaldson and Aaron Hicks earlier this season. Hard not to wonder if something similar could eventually be in Stanton’s future.
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Original deal: Seven years, $245 million
What’s left
2024: $38 million
2025: $38 million
2026: $38 million
Rendon was the toast of the free-agent class in the winter of 2019. And since? He has been worth only a combined 1.1 fWAR over the past three seasons. He has never played more than 58 games in a season over his four years with the Angels. This past season, Rendon did not play after July 4. He was on the injured list with what was listed as a left shin contusion. Rendon, though, remained elusive to reporters, and details on his condition were never entirely clear. In September, he said he was dealing with a tibia fracture. Rendon made more money than both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in 2023. Asked if he was contemplating retirement, Rendon said in September: “I’ve been contemplating it for the last 10 years.”
The Strasberg saga has gotten weird for the Nationals. (Greg Fiume / Getty Images)Original deal: Seven years, $245 million
What’s left
2024: $35 million
2025: $35 million
2026: $35 million
For a short while, we were led to believe Strasburg was retiring. Then things got complicated, as they tend to do when big money is on the table. A joint press conference between Strasburg and the Nationals never happened. And despite the fact Strasburg has not pitched since June of 2022 and has thrown only 31 1/3 innings since 2020, he remains on the Nationals’ roster this offseason. Initially, The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli reported, the Nationals approached Strasburg about retirement and paying him the full value of his contract. The team later wanted to change those terms, Ghiroli reported. Strasburg’s future is for now unclear. What is inevitable: One way or another, the Nationals still owe him a lot of money.
(Top photo of Rendon: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
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