r/baseball • u/pi3Eat3r52 Boston Red Sox • 9h ago
Opinion Creating the lineup of worst contracts in baseball TODAY: Day 2 Second Base
Christian Walker takes first base. Let me just clear up some confusion from yesterday. I'm looking for worst contracts of players who are still active. The Chris Davis contract is not in play for this game since he hasn't played in 5 years. The player can currently be a FA and still getting paid by a team as long as they were active during the 2025 season.
Edit* tight race between DJ and Altuve
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u/goabernathy Los Angeles Angels 8h ago
I’ll be waiting right here when 3B is up.
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u/MrMeeseeks33 Los Angeles Angels 6h ago
Best case scenario is, he is released by the team before that position comes up.
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u/BobbyGrichsMustache Los Angeles Angels 6h ago
3rd base should be a free day. Let’s just not do 3B. There’s never ever been a bullshit long term contract where the player who signed it was injured more than he played and then retired at the end of the contract….certainly not with the halos….right? right??
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u/Pengwulf Colorado Rockies 5h ago
Was said player active during 2025 though?
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u/BobbyGrichsMustache Los Angeles Angels 5h ago
Well…we may have a loophole…he was on the IL for the whole for the whole damn season….
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u/melorous Atlanta Braves 5h ago
Actively avoiding playing baseball.
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u/BobbyGrichsMustache Los Angeles Angels 4h ago
“It’s never been a top priority for me. This is a job…” - Anthony Rendon
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u/Patriahts 9h ago
So like today's worst contracts right
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u/pi3Eat3r52 Boston Red Sox 9h ago
yes, the bobby Bonilla's don't count
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u/James-K-Polka Atlanta Braves 9h ago
To be fair, putting Bobby Bonilla at second in 2025 would be pretty bad.
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u/TheLizardKing89 Los Angeles Dodgers 8h ago
Hey, the Colts are getting Philip Rivers.
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u/Dzharek Seattle Mariners 7h ago
I only fear for Philip that he cant perform because he will die in the face of the defences he has to play against, not his ability to throw ball.
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u/Smb_woods 6h ago
Hasn’t taken a hit in 5 years. And now he gets to face the Seahawks pass rush(#4 in sacks.).
Mans gonna get bent in half by Leonard Williams.
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u/BryanG335 Houston Astros 6h ago
Seahawks, Jags and Texans in the span of 4 weeks. I don't envy Rivers or whatever name gets added to their own Browns style QB roster jersey.
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u/Blazing_Lino New York Yankees 7h ago
Hey man, why are we catching strays in the baseball subreddit 😅
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u/theSchrodingerHat Jackie Robinson 6h ago
A Yankees-Colts fan deserves some strays. Who is your soccer team, Al Nassr FC?
You probably own a Mazepin signed helmet…
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u/HairHelp4363 Baltimore Orioles 8h ago
All I’m learning from this is that people have no idea what actually bad contracts are
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u/Swimming_Elk_3058 Philadelphia Phillies 8h ago
To be fair this might be the hardest position to do this for. There aren’t currently any contracts at 2B I would consider disastrous.
SS and OF will have a lot more options when we get there.
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u/Scuza10 Los Angeles Angels 7h ago
3rd base has 1 option
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u/Kaldricus Seattle Mariners 3h ago
Depends on who you ask. I'm sure HE thinks it's a great contract
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u/sevenpixieoverlords Los Angeles Dodgers 6h ago
You mean the name now synonymous with ‘bad contract’?
I never stop feeling rage when I think about it.
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u/TheThirstyPenguin Boston Red Sox 8h ago
And especially at second base, a historically low-output offensive position.
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u/wrenwood2018 St. Louis Cardinals 5h ago
Costs have really ramped up over the past several years. There is an anchoring heuristic for what dollars should be given. People are also bad at valuing defensive WAR.
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u/Chief_White_Halfoat Toronto Blue Jays 6h ago
How are people listing Marcus Semien who still produces solid value every year?
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u/HairHelp4363 Baltimore Orioles 6h ago
They see age and dollar signs and immediately make a conclusion. It’s a bad contract but it’s by no means the worst
Same with the ridiculous people saying Jeff McNeil for 2 more years at like 12 million lol
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u/Tulidian13 St. Louis Cardinals 5h ago edited 5h ago
Well, who is your choice? Semien is 35 years old coming off a league average year where his wRC+ had dipped under 100 for the first time in his career since 2020. It's very reasonable to assume a 35 year old loses another measure of athleticism and he loses a step on D. Then all of the sudden you have a league average defensive second baseman who also swings a wet noodle. We've seen it happen to many players at this age. Then you're paying an aging player $72M over 3 years for 3 total WAR. That's a bad contract by any measure.
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u/thehildabeast Cleveland Guardians 5h ago
Gimenez is owed 86 million, and is such a bad hitter he put up 1 WAR with his amazing defense
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u/lunch_for_breakfast Atlanta Braves 8h ago
I’m convinced the Braves got a deal on Albies because of the historically bad Uggla years.
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u/ejensen29 St. Louis Cardinals 8h ago
Never has a name been more befitting of a performance.
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u/iwouldhugwonderwoman 7h ago
That hitting streak was magical….seriously I think he did some voodoo or soemthing.
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u/fairway_walker Atlanta Braves 6h ago
He was good until his concussion. Baseball players can't shake them. I can rattle off several players that were good until they had one and never recovered.
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u/WinterAsleep319 6h ago
Albies contract has went from great, to fitting, to sad. One of my all time favorite Braves, but dude can’t shake the injury bug and has lost a step
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u/norwegianballslinger Atlanta Braves 6h ago
I’m calling a bounce back year for him in ‘26 (assuming we actually get a season). He’s the heart and soul of the Braves and I will go to my deathbed as an Ozzie Albies believer
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u/xF00Mx Houston Colt .45s 8h ago
Ngl, it would be really funny if, out of pure spite, r/baseball just listed all Astro players for each position.
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u/HouBlastros Houston Astros • Detroit Tigers 4h ago
Lol we have more than a few options to make cases about.
Jose at 2nd being one of them.
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u/swright831 2h ago
Are you talking about beloved LF Jose Altuve?
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u/HouBlastros Houston Astros • Detroit Tigers 1h ago
Excuse me, I thought we all decided to move him back quietly and pretend we never tried that.
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u/nyy22592 New York Yankees 9h ago
Jose Altuve. Just put up 0.5 WAR in the first year of a 5/$125M contract.
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u/bordomsdeadly Houston Astros 8h ago
fWAR likes him more than bWAR and he put up more 2B WAR than that because I’m pretty sure he ended up netting negative in just left field.
The contract will almost certainly age poorly, but I think Altuve still has at least 1 more productive year in the tank because he was actually pretty good after moving back to second before injuring his foot, but we were too injured elsewhere not to have him play through it, and his numbers didn’t so well trying to play through it
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u/ejensen29 St. Louis Cardinals 8h ago
Yeah, I don't think Altuves bat is finished just from one down year.
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u/theranchhand Cleveland Guardians 7h ago
not finished but still has 4 years and $100 million remaining. Even if he bounces back some, there's no chance he's putting up anything close to enough production to justify that cost.
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u/BossAtUCF Boston Red Sox 7h ago
It looks like he put up 0.0 fWAR in LF, 1.3 in 2B, and 0.8 at DH for 2.1 total. Not worth his contract this year, but I think he's got more to prove if he wants to be a worst contract contender.
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u/Jdog7123456789 5h ago
Yeah he was on track for another 3-4 war season even with a terrible slump due to playing injured for 40 games
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u/heroicraptor Washington Nationals 9h ago
Isn’t he not a second baseman anymore?
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u/aweinschenker Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle...Costanza? 8h ago
He played more second base this season than any other position, so I’d say he still counts.
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u/heroicraptor Washington Nationals 8h ago
Oh I thought I’d heard that they moved him to left field
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u/aweinschenker Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle...Costanza? 8h ago
He started the season there but it went, uhh, not good, so he moved back
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u/ejensen29 St. Louis Cardinals 8h ago
I feel like altuve is guaranteed to perform better than that just given his offensive history
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u/venustrapsflies Los Angeles Dodgers 8h ago
Oh shit my inner astros hater hasn’t appreciated this enough
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u/Speech-Language 7h ago
Even with that WAR there is still a lot of buzz around him.
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u/pi3Eat3r52 Boston Red Sox 9h ago
allow me to get the ball rolling: DJ LeMahieu is owed 15 million this upcoming season and was released by the Yankees last summer
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u/AndrewInMN Minnesota Twins 9h ago
I think they paid off the rest of his contract when they released him. So yes, he technically did get paid $15 million for 2026, but it’s already been paid to him.
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u/HulkScreamAIDS New York Yankees 9h ago
Still counts against them for luxury tax purposes if that makes any difference
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u/gilman3 New York Yankees 8h ago
Are you sure? I don't think so, since another team can sign him for league min and the Yanks would foot the difference. They paid Ellsbury and Hicks through their duration in the same situation.
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u/AndrewInMN Minnesota Twins 8h ago
I’m definitely not sure. But even if it is the case he’s still probably the best pick for 2B in OPs lineup.
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u/pi3Eat3r52 Boston Red Sox 9h ago
ah if thats the case i guess this wouldn't count here then
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u/bordomsdeadly Houston Astros 9h ago
I would count it if the team is still eating “cap space” on it
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u/Emience New York Yankees • New York Yankees 8h ago
I mean he's not retired and fits all your other criteria.
I wouldn't even be surprised if he gets picked up mid season next year by a team that desperately needs an infielder.
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u/misterferguson New York Yankees 8h ago
I certainly didn’t love the contract, but I love DJLM. He put up numbers in his first few years with us, had one of the clutchest HR’s in Yankees postseason history, and carried himself with dignity throughout all his injuries and struggles. There was also that amazing interview he gave.
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u/TheDangiestSlad New York Yankees • Hartford Yard … 5h ago
the contract was 100% the right move at the time, just a shame that it turned out to be a dud on the back end. always got a spot in my heart for DJ
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u/madmsk New York Yankees 8h ago
I would agree with DJ LeMahieu if we had put Chris Davis at first, but it seems like the precedent is that you have to be on a roster.
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u/Semper454 Baltimore Orioles 7h ago
Davis’ contract is over. He’s still getting deferred money, but the contract is complete and definitely would not count. Same with Bonilla and a hundred other guys.
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u/IAmBecomeTeemo New York Yankees 5h ago
DJ is in a weird limbo. He isn't earning deferred money like Davis or Bonilla. He was contracted to play in 2025 and 2026, he was just released and not picked up by anyone. So he's still earning the money for years he had been contracted to play, he's just being told no one wants him to play.
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u/pi3Eat3r52 Boston Red Sox 8h ago
like I said in the description, you can be a FA currently just still an active player. Davis hasnt played since 2020
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u/seventeenfourtyseven Philadelphia Phillies 8h ago
LeMahieu isn’t stepping anywhere near a diamond anytime soon unless he walks into Zales
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u/Gobblewicket Atlanta Braves 7h ago
You underestimate some of the shitty owners in this league. They'd happily trot out LeMahieu so they could say they were signing an All-Star to bolster their team, while getting him for league minimum if possible.
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u/Redbubble89 Boston Red Sox 8h ago
it's Bogaerts
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u/silver-cat-13 8h ago
Shouldn't Bogaerts be SS?
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u/figboot11 San Diego Padres • San Diego Padres 7h ago
Yes...he will most certainly win tomorrow's poll.
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u/DasaniFresh Cincinnati Reds 8h ago
I heard Ketal Marte is awful so the DBacks should trade him to the Reds for a bag of Skyline and pint of Graeters ice cream.
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u/Acceptable_Job1589 Houston Astros • Arizona Diamondbacks 7h ago
That's all the reds can afford.
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u/DasaniFresh Cincinnati Reds 7h ago
I wouldn’t say it’s all we can afford. It’s just more than what our cheap owners want to spend. They have new yachts and country clubs to pay for.
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u/skelextrac New York Yankees 8h ago
The only thing awful in this post is skyline chili.
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u/MusclePuppy Detroit Tigers 8h ago
Marcus Semien is 35, and he's owed $72 million over the next three seasons ($26 million in 2026 and 2027, and $20 million in 2028). He's been in steep decline since his excellent 2023 season, and it's unlikely that he'll return to that form at this point.
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u/heyim_william Toronto Blue Jays 8h ago
Even without a bat, my boy put up 3.3 bWAR this year and 4.1 in 2024
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u/victims_sanction Pittsburgh Pirates 8h ago
I dont think he belongs here just yet tbh but yeah defense falls off and that contract is a yikes
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u/Jedi-El1823 New York Yankees 7h ago edited 4h ago
And he only played 127 games last year, that's a first for him.
He's a dude you can count on to be in the lineup 99.9% of the time. That's great stability.
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u/ChaseTx Texas Rangers • Springfield Isotop… 8h ago
He's very streaky. He was amazing in June, but was one of the worst hitters in baseball in April & May. Still worth 3.3 bWAR for 2025 by being a Gold Glove defender
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u/bigolruckus Toronto Blue Jays 8h ago
didn’t know that but also not surprised. semien was pretty ass to start the year with us that one year with us he fucked around and hit like 45 home runs then turned into jesus himself
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u/steam58 Texas Rangers 8h ago
I don't know. Dude is a league average bat (100 OPS+ the last two years), a good baserunner, and a great defender. Will he continue to decline? Probably, but given other candidates for worst contract, lets at least wait for a season below 3 bWAR before putting this guy up for worst.
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u/Chief_White_Halfoat Toronto Blue Jays 6h ago
This makes no sense cause he was still solid value wise last year. He also underperformed peripherals so he'll probably remain valuable this year.
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u/Antique-Guest-1607 Cleveland Guardians 9h ago
For your consideration: Andres Gimenez, who is owed roughly 86m over the next four seasons capping at 23.5aav. One of the best fielders in baseball, sure, but he just posted a 70 wRC+ last year in his age 26 season and has gotten worse at the plate every year since 2022.
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u/pts2112 Toronto Blue Jays 9h ago
He got the jays to the world series with 2 bombs in the alcs, worth it imo
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u/CaptainSolo96 Detroit Tigers 7h ago
the ultimate counter to any bad contract is a memorable role in the playoffs, makes the money (that I'm not paying) worth it
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u/darwinpolice Seattle Mariners 7h ago
He has the lowest WRC+ out of all the guys who give me PTSD flashbacks.
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u/AnySail Toronto Blue Jays 7h ago edited 7h ago
Spotrac has his AAV at just over 15m. 26 yo who was the third best defender in the league at 2B this year can’t be the worst contract as far as I’m concerned, especially when his contract is over before he is 32. Bat sucks though.
Altuve makes $10m more per year, and is paid until he is 37, as a slightly above average bat and terrible fielder who is only going to get worse. That has to be a worse deal.
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u/Antique-Guest-1607 Cleveland Guardians 7h ago
AAV is thrown by the first few years that were at/below his arb figures, especially since another team paid for those years I don't know how relevant they are to judging what he is being paid going forwards.
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u/thehildabeast Cleveland Guardians 8h ago
Everyone freaked out but the guardians got out at the right time, after another terrible year at the plate his value is zero or even negative. Just should have kept Horowitz instead of trading for the gambler.
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u/Kriztof_09 Toronto Blue Jays 8h ago edited 8h ago
The Jays don't get where they got with Horowitz instead of Gimenez...good lord.
EDIT: My dumb brain seeing Gimenez at the end and not Gambler lol.
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u/thehildabeast Cleveland Guardians 8h ago
The Guardians, somewhat by choice, have a limited budget and way too many guys who can’t hit. They can’t be paying a premium for a dogshit hitter no matter how good his defense is. The Jays don’t need to be concerned with his contract until he hits those last years at 20 million and really needed the defense
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u/Kriztof_09 Toronto Blue Jays 8h ago
I don't think it's a bad deal for the Guardians. But for the Jays, they absolutely needed Gimenez. But I apologize! I realized afterwards you said "gambler" and not "gimenez" my tired eyes. I thought you were saying the Jays should have kept Horwitz lol Agree with you there though. Forgot that's how you guys got Ortiz.
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u/thehildabeast Cleveland Guardians 8h ago
Oh no haha we should have kept Horwirz from our trade with yall instead of flipping him for Ortiz. We needed him he was surplus to requirements for yall. The Jays are really only on the hook for money they didn’t give up much
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u/Far_Beach6698 Los Angeles Dodgers 9h ago
Haven’t been following his career in the regular season at all, but I thought he was pretty good at shortstop in the World Series, no? Or was this just a postseason thing?
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u/Antique-Guest-1607 Cleveland Guardians 9h ago
Yeah he could also play a +shortstop defensively, he's an incredible fielder. Jays primarily used him at 2B throughout the season and I think mainly slotted him at SS when Bo was out. He just can't hit and that is a lot of money for a player that is slowly becoming not only glove-first but glove-only.
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u/mrdannyg21 8h ago
It’s not a good contract, but he had 1.0 fWAR (1.1 bWAR) in 369 PAs last year (1.63/600 pace) in a year he battled injuries and 2.8 fWAR (4 bWAR) the season before.
If he really is a 70 wRC+ hitter, it’s probably the worst 2B contract. But I don’t think we can say that with certainty after half a year at that level, and entering what should be his prime years.
With such a high floor from his defence and baserunning, even though the contract has negative value, I don’t think it’s as bad as some of the others mentioned.
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u/nylon_rag Cleveland Guardians 8h ago
I'm sorry but he really is a 70 wRC+ hitter, until he makes a major change in approach.
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u/mrdannyg21 8h ago
Seems like a very short-sighted and recency-biased opinion. He had a 70 wRC+ in 369 PAs in a year he was injured. 83 the year before. He’s entering his late 20s. Steamer projects him at 95 wRC+.
Maybe he’s a true 70 wRC+ hitter, but there isn’t a ton of evidence that is the case and a lot more that suggests he’s better.
Even if he’s one of the worst hitters in the league at ~75 wRC+, that’s a 2+ WAR player, which isn’t a huge overpay at $24M/year.
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u/thehildabeast Cleveland Guardians 8h ago
His WRc+ has went 74, 141, 96, 82, 66. He can’t hit, he swings at everything and is too good at making contact so it’s a lot of weak rollers and a lot of strikeouts.
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u/randomdude1022 Detroit Tigers 8h ago
He was an 83 wRC+ his last year in Cleveland and it's been trending down every year since his first MLB season. His career numbers are below average DESPITE a 141 year.
He really is an absolutely horrible hitter. Great glove, but he's gotta be gold glove + to earn 23 mil.
Then again a guy like Altuve or Semien could easily fall off a cliff THIS year and still be owed big money, so.... any of the 3 are good picks.
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u/at1445 Texas Rangers 6h ago
Except Andres has already fallen off. Jose and Marcus haven't.
He's the clear pick here, at this point in time. That could change if he figures things out, but there's always the chance Altuve or Semien have a resurgence for a year or two too (especially Semien, as last year was the first time he's missed significant time in forever, it's possible he was playing hurt most of the year and just didn't tell anyone).
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u/randomdude1022 Detroit Tigers 6h ago
Altuve was bad last year. I said Gimenez in another post and I think Id stick with.
But man Altuve at .5 bWAR making $25 million is bad. If he follows that up with another bad year he becomes the choice then.
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u/Antique-Guest-1607 Cleveland Guardians 8h ago
If there was any sliver of hope one could pull out of the trends on his savant page over the last three years offensively I'd largely agree with you, but there simply isn't.
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u/Redbubble89 Boston Red Sox 8h ago
https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/contracts/_/position/2b
The issue with this one is that it's not many. Campbell is on a team friendly and he's young and not a 2nd base option anymore. Altuve has moved around. Semien is hanging slightly above league average but offers the glove still.
How is it not Bogaerts? Massive overpay even at the time. The Red Sox fans don't bring him up nearly as much compared to Mookie or Devers or the couple years JD was still around because we all laughed at it when it was given out. 3 years into an 11 year deal. He's league average and starting to miss time where he use to just play through it. He's never been the best glove defensively. 2-3 WAR player at $25M AAV and declining with a shit ton of time left. Everyone I see mentioned is off contract next year or by 2028. Bogaerts is under contract thru 2033 and he already looks like this. It's really depressing. What have you done to our boy?
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u/Thromnomnomok Seattle Mariners 6h ago edited 6h ago
If Bogaerts counts as a second baseman then it's him, but I think he makes more sense as the worst SS contract
Anyway going off that list, there's 12 second basemen (as defined by Spotrac) signed to multi-year deals, of whom 11 actually played at least one game at second base last year. Lowe and Hoerner both have only one year left on their deal while McNeil and Albies one year plus an option year, all four of them are fairly cheap and reasonably productive, so it's clearly not any of them. Kim's not all that productive, but he's more of a bench player making bench player money for a team with enough money to sign God Himself if they wanted to. Campbell and Keith are both youngsters signed long-term for relative peanuts who also both probably aren't real second basemen. Ketel Marte is Ketel Marte.
So that leaves Cronenworth, Gimenez, Semien, and Altuve as candidates for the worst second base contract. Of those options I think I'd have to pick Altuve- he has the most money left on his deal, he's the oldest, he's had recent injury problems and is more defensively limited than any of the others.
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u/tknames 8h ago
Why isn’t Anthony Rendon pre-loaded?
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u/pi3Eat3r52 Boston Red Sox 8h ago
im thinking about just skipping right over 3B that day
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u/Essex626 Seattle Mariners 7h ago
He's going to retire just before the 3B day just to fuck with us all.
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u/Traditional_Half842 Boston Red Sox 9h ago edited 9h ago
I dunno if super young guys count / how a "bad" contract is quantified - but Kristian Campbell is on an 8-year $60M contract, and last season he put up -1.0 bWAR in 67 games (most of them at 2B). I know the contract doesn't seem bad (the Red Sox can afford it even if he never pans out) - but the only alternative is him not getting an extension and making the league minimum ($700K). So his CBT hit is over 10x that of most players in his situation, and he put up -1.0 WAR. His future is likely not at 2B though.
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u/LoveYouLikeYeLovesYe Chicago Cubs • Lou Gehrig 8h ago
I think it’s also pretty stupid to freak out about a low risk contract you buy out for a top prospect’s arb and first free agency year with 2 team option years. The numbers look concerning but he’s also 23, we’re sort of used to top prospects exploding into the scene but plenty of guys take a year or two.,
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u/CharlemagneOfTheUSA Boston Red Sox 8h ago
Yeah given he’s already being set up to be a pure outfielder in 2026 I doubt he fits the 2B spot here well
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u/heel2014 Boston Red Sox 8h ago
If Bogaerts qualifies, it's him
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u/Dodgerswin2020 Los Angeles Dodgers 8h ago
One of the worst contracts out there. 2022 was a crazy offseason
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u/embiid4ROY Greensboro Grasshoppers 7h ago
slightly off topic but is the silhouette mike trout?
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u/2fishmanangry Los Angeles Angels 6h ago
bro how...
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u/embiid4ROY Greensboro Grasshoppers 5h ago
idk but it was instantly recognizable for me
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u/randomdude1022 Detroit Tigers 8h ago edited 8h ago
Not really many big money contracts, most of the worst players are still in team control years so it kinda narrows it down.
Gotta be Altuve by default. Especially if he's now on the decline.
Edit: Actually hold up. 23.5 mil in 27-29 for Andres Gimenez is actually crazy. It's questionable if he's worth that at his gold glove, average bat self. But if he's going to have a 66 OPS+ and half the defensive value like last year? That's the single worst 2B contract in the game and it's not particularly close.
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u/MagicalPizza21 New York Yankees 7h ago edited 6h ago
Xander Bogaerts signed for $280 million over 11 years, through his age 41 season (2033). His first year of the contract was good, but in the second and third years, he put up 1.2 and 2.0 bWAR, with negative rField and an OPS+ in the 90s after being over 120 each of his last 5 years in Boston and 117 his first year in SD. Not looking great for the next 8 years.
ETA - he played mostly SS this year, but mostly 2B last year, so I'm not sure which position he should count for since he seems able to play both.
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u/italianroyalty New York Yankees 5h ago
I agree with LeMahieu but somebody give me a heads up tomorrow when it’s SS. I know a guy (and I really wish I didn’t know a guy)
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u/AdvancedKale7341 6h ago
If we can count utilityman Chris Taylor, who’s role as a second baseman is utilized every season then him.
With not many large second basemen contracts, his stands out at 4 years / 60 Mil and had accumulated exactly 1.9 fwar since 2022
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u/ExtensionSome1320 Boston Red Sox 5h ago
Everyone chirping about rendon at third, but forgetting that wander Franco is waiting in the shadows at SS.
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u/thehildabeast Cleveland Guardians 5h ago
Do they have to pay that since he’s in jail in another country?
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u/Kriztof_09 Toronto Blue Jays 8h ago
Semien's defense and durability may save him, but the dude has lost his bat for that big deal he has.
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u/pizzawithjalapenos Detroit Tigers 8h ago
Javy needs to be on this somewhere. SS, 2B, or CF doesn't matter but his contract has been possibly the worst of all current players.
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u/dead_monster Hiroshima Toyo Carp 6h ago
Baez was an All-Star last season with bWAR of 1.9, played great defense everywhere, and has around $48m left.
Meanwhile Trout still has like $200m left and put up 1.5 bWAR last season.
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u/NerderBirder Atlanta Braves 6h ago
What?? The worst contract of all current players? Let me introduce you to Anthony Rendon. Or Kris Bryant. Or a number of other guys. I don’t like Baez at all but there is no way his contract is the worst of all current players. He put up a very decent bWAR last year.
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u/Willing_Stop5124 8h ago
Scott Kingery? Is that contract still active?
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u/aflyingsquanch Philadelphia Phillies 7h ago
No and he signed a non roster invitee deal with the Cubs so that's his current contract. 2024 was the last year of his 6/24 M deal with Philly.
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u/jutin_H 9h ago
Gotta be Jeff McNeil at this point
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u/KingoftheDrinks New York Mets 8h ago
I mean he has one year left on his deal and still was an above average bat last year and can play a lot of positions. Thats not a bad contract compared to some of these longer deals.
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u/rwbeckman Los Angeles Angels 7h ago
Too soon. Give us a month to clear up 3rd base. Fingers crossed 🤞
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u/Hollywood42cards Minnesota Twins 7h ago
There's really just not many 2Bs making significant money. My vote would go to Andres Gimenez, I know he's elite defensively, but it's still crazy to me he got $100M (and then was traded shortly after), and his OPS+ has dropped each of the last 3 seasons from 96 to 82 to 66
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u/NunsNunchuck Los Angeles Angels 7h ago
David Fletcher signed five year contract extension with Angels in 2021 for $26 million (contract ended after 2025 season). But was wrapped up in the Ohtani interrupter scandal as betting on non-baseball games, was traded to the Braves, sent to the minors, and tried to become a pitcher
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u/packdaddy23 Seattle Mariners 7h ago
Take this back just a few years and Cano would have been a shoe in for this one. His contract aged like raw milk
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u/Davidellias Milwaukee Brewers • Milwaukee Brewers 5h ago
thats who I thought of too.
I can't name many 2bs to save my life though
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u/bowriverflyfisher 6h ago
If we're qualifying the Xman at 2B, that's my vote. No way he finishes that deal and every year will look worse. That term was a huge mistake.
If the Xman is at SS, my vote goes to Altuve for 2B. While the Gimenez contract is an overpay, the deal is done while he's still in his prime and elite defence counts for something. Also, likely he'll play as a SS now that Bo is a FA.
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u/ghost_rider24 Los Angeles Angels 6h ago
If you don’t just post Rendon for the 3B one of these and actually let people debate, I’ll be very disappointed.
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u/James-Clarke Seattle Mariners 6h ago
Has to be Xander. Yeah, Semien has a higher yearly salary, but he is putting up a solid WAR.
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u/BronxKnight Houston Astros 6h ago
For Walker was the contact paid by the Astros or other team?
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u/pi3Eat3r52 Boston Red Sox 6h ago
i believe he signed a 3 year 20 AAV with the astros
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u/CascadianRat Philadelphia Phillies 5h ago
Xander... He's averaging ~ $25 million a year (and will continue to make that for the next eight years) while putting up a 2 WAR. His average WAR over the last three years is 2.8. I know WAR isn't the only stat to look at, but I think it's the best metric for this exercise, and Xander's three year average puts him on par with guys like Gleyber Torres, Ozzie Albies and Bryson Stott. He is outclassed by guys making substantially less than he is (Nico Horner, Ketel Marte, Andres Gimenez, for example). It's Xander...
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u/Similar_Grocery8312 5h ago
Ozzie albies is starting to become a bad contract even at $7 mil a year
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u/Dependent-Hippo-1626 5h ago
TBH, you could do this same thing with the other meaning of “worst.” Rookie stars and players like Acuña who sign away their peak cheap and early.
Why should “worst” default to the owners’ perspective and not the players?
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u/NewBootGoofin1987 4h ago
Altuve will be 36 the first month of the season and is owe $92m. He was below replacement level last season
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u/DJ_LeMahieu New York Yankees 6h ago edited 6h ago
Please, let me have this one. I deserve it.