Blockbuster Contracts end in tears...
by Chanumas on Apr 29, 2008 10:01 AM EDT
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PrintIn light of the recent news about Barry Zito doing his best Steve Trachsel imitation and thus being banished to middle relief, here's a list of blockbuster ($100 mil-plus) contracts in major league baseball. It's a bit too early to say with Cabrera and Santana, but with the exception of A-Rod, Manny, Pujols, and (arguably) Jeter, we've got a loooong list of dashed hopes and GMs on the unemployment line.
| Rank | Player | Team | Length of Contract | How signed | Salary |
| 1 | Alex Rodriguez | New York Yankees | 10 years (2008-2018) | Contract extension | $275,000,000 |
| 2 | Alex Rodriguez | Texas Rangers* | 10 years (2001-2010) | Free agency | $252,000,000 |
| 3 | Derek Jeter | New York Yankees | 10 years (2001-2010) | Contract extension | $189,000,000 |
| 4 | Manny Ramírez | Boston Red Sox | 8 years (2001-2008) | Free agency | $160,000,000 |
| 5 | Todd Helton | Colorado Rockies | 11 years (2001-2011) | Contract extension | $141,500,000 |
| 6 | Miguel Cabrera | Detroit Tigers | 8 years (2008-2015) | Contract extension | $152,300,000 |
| 7 | Johan Santana | New York Mets | 6 years (2008-2013) | Contract extension after acquisition from the Minnesota Twins | $137,500,000 |
| 8 | Alfonso Soriano | Chicago Cubs | 8 years (2007-2014) | Free agency | $136,000,000 |
| 9 | Vernon Wells | Toronto Blue Jays | 7 years (2008-2014) | Contract extension | $126,000,000 |
| 10 | Barry Zito | San Francisco Giants | 7 years (2008-2014) | Free agency | $126,000,000 |
| 11 | Mike Hampton | Colorado Rockies* | 8 years (2001-2008) | Free agency | $121,000,000 |
| 12 | Jason Giambi | New York Yankees | 7 years (2002-2008) | Free agency | $120,000,000 |
| 13 | Carlos Beltran | New York Mets | 7 years (2005-2011) | Free agency | $119,000,000 |
| 14 | Ken Griffey, Jr. | Cincinnati Reds | 9 years (2000-2008) | Contract extension after acquisition from the Seattle Mariners | $116,500,000 |
| 15 | Kevin Brown | Los Angeles Dodgers* | 7 years (1999-2005) | Free agency | $105,000,000 |
| 16 | Albert Pujols | St. Louis Cardinals | 7 years (2004-2010) | Contract extension | $100,000,000 |
| 17 | Carlos Lee | Houston Astros | 6 years (2007-2012) | Free agency | $100,000,000 |
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A-Rod is going to be pretty feeble by 2018.
And Yankee fans will still hate him.
MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC MAGIC
I think Helton was worth it
He’s still producing and gave them someone to be the face of the franchise through some bad years. Annually, he’s getting paid less than most of the others up there.
Cabrera will probably be worth it.
Santana? Too early to say.
Soriano will be worth it if the Cubs win a series, even if he can barely get around the bases the last years of the contract.
The worst contracts up there? Zito was terrible. Everyone knew he wasn’t worth the money when the Giants gave it to him. Hampton is pretty bad, of course. I don’t think Giambi has earned his money. And A-Rod’s latest could end up being pretty bad if he declines like a normal player. Of course, he’s not a normal player.
Some of those are decent
Manny, A Rod’s first contract, Jeter, Soriano, Pujols are all looking at least decent. But there is some trash up there.
Miguel Cabrera is looking like a bust in my opinion. As a 1b/DH he is not worth that much. Why not just wait for Tex this offseason? He is older but will probably age better, and then all you give up is a draft pick and not two stud prospects and then some.
by Reddrummer9187 on Apr 29, 2008 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions
I pray for Tex!
Every Mourning, Every Afternoon, and Every Night! I believe Mr. MacPhail will do the right thing and bring Tex home.
Cab's contract
He’s certainly worth less as a 1B/DH, but we’re talking about someone who has a career line of .311/.387/.540 and just turned 25. His line is even better if you exclude his first season and a half and he’s durable, never missing more than 5 games in a season yet.
Plus, he’s only signed to his age 32 season. The Tigers paid for his peak years and nothing more. You better believe that whoever signs Tex is going to have to eat some of his decline years. He’s going to want more than a 4 year contract.
by silverstadium on Apr 29, 2008 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Age
I don’t trust his age, he did extremely well when he was really young and is from Venezuela. I think its likely that he is 27 right now and not 25. Regardless of that, he doesn’t take care of his body and by age 30 he could be in decline (see Andruw Jones, who i also think is older than we are told). He’s a great hitter now and only time will tell, but if the Tigers make it far this year then it all pays off.
by Reddrummer9187 on Apr 29, 2008 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't trust his weight
His ass has been getting progressively bigger every year he has been in the Majors. If I were the Tigers I would worry about him not holding up because he eats too much rather than because he might be older than he says he is.
I actually think he’s the age he says he is because his body has filled out the way I imagine a poor teenager who came into some money would.
Babe Ruth was fat! I’d trade two Nick Markakises for one Miguel Cabrera. His comparable at every age is Hank Aaron. HANK AARON. He’s a portly, Venezuelan Hank Aaron!
He's a great player
I would be vaguely worried he’ll eat his way out of the Majors. Not worried enough to hold onto two Nick Markakises if the opportunity arose, but worried nonetheless.
Babe Ruth was fat and he’s used as an example of how guys who might not be in the best shape can succeed, but he was also the most naturally gifted baseball player in history and for every fat guy like him or Kirby Puckett or Tony Gwynn or David Wells that has a successful career there are plenty of out-of-shape baseball players who became injury-prone and never went anywhere.
Will that happen to Cabrera? I have no idea, but I would keep an eye on it. Hire a nutritionist for him or something.
Mike Hampton. Hah hah.
"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again."
My theory on the future of free agency in the Majors
I suspect that free agency in the Major Leagues will look a lot more like free agency in the NFL. Specifically, there won’t be that many top-shelf players in their prime who will actually go on the open market and the players on the open market won’t be of the caliber we’ve seen in the past.
Look at free agency in the NFL. How many really difference-making players have hit the open market during the free agency-ear? Reggie White, Deion Sanders, Shannon Sharpe, maybe a few others, but most of the time those kinds of players get signed by their own teams or occasionally traded away. The successful free agency signings tend to be something more along the lines of Wes Welker last year by the Patriots or when the Ravens signed Rod Woodson – players who are either role players or formerly great players in decline with some football left in them who can help, but aren’t the guy the team depends upon.
That’s how I see free agency going in the Major Leagues. Teams are finally wising up to the fact that they are frequently paying good money for a guy whose best years are behind him and giving up their draft picks to boot. At the same time teams are realizing they’re getting nothing for players that they developed if they just let them walk away. You would think this all would’ve been pretty obvious a long time ago, but these are baseball people we’re talking about.
Part of the reason I’m pleased with MacPhail so far is because rather than hemming and hawing and attempting to sign Erik Bedard after it was too late (as happened with Mike Mussina) he realized the O’s weren’t going to sign Bedard to an extension and pulled the trigger for a trade. That was smart. I bet the Mariners wish they’d extorted something for A-Rod or the Indians for Manny Ramirez or the Expos for Vladimir Guerrero. In the future most teams in that kind of situation will.
I actually think that the Yankees were ahead of their time during their last dynasty. Their free agents were role players like Tim Raines, Scott Brossius, and Joe Girardi. Their difference makers were either developed themselves or acquired by trades. The Orioles used to operate that way too. I think the ability to function in that kind of environment will increasingly be an essential quality of good teams.
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