The half-way point of the year marks the birth of my country. It also marks Bobby Bonilla Day, where the former slugger gets a $1 million paycheck of deferred money and will until 2035. Inflation has perhaps eaten into the joy of the occasion somewhat, but Bobby Bonilla has plenty of new company among the worst contracts in MLB history. Let’s review some of the worst contracts in MLB today.
Anthony Rendon (7 years; $245 million)
The Angels were naturally going to have an entry on this list given their recent history of bad free agent signings. There may be others who have performed even worse historically, but $245 million across seven years with so little to show for it is especially painful. Injuries have hammered the former star and 2019 World Series champ. The COVID year was ok, but he has not played more than 58 games in a year since. Since he signed, Rendon has put up a combined 3.6 WAR (Fangraphs) and only in 2022 did he put up a barely league average 103 WRC+. To make matters worse, 2023 has seen a career low .081 ISO which is unnerving given that the Angels signed him to give them another big bat to supplement Trout and Ohtani.
Jacob DeGrom (5 years; $185 million)
The Rangers rightly assessed that 2023 would be the year where they’d become contenders again. However, they’ve had to do it largely without their ace. There was logic in signing an ace to lead a steadily improving rotation but DeGrom has again been hit by the injury bug and it’s Tommy John surgery. By the time he returns in 2024 (maybe), he’ll be in his age 36 season and his next full season would be his age 37 season in 2025. By then, it can be safely said he’d be past his prime and the Rangers would still be on the hook for over $100 million. He may prove to age well and has a sterling track record, but his injury history suggests that the Rangers will need the farm depth they’ve stocked up on the pitching side. It’s a shame because he was sharp in his six starts (save for one) and was pitching to a 1.57 FIP and boasted a 39.1% K rate with an xERA of 1.85 which suggested he could have improved on his already strong actual ERA of 2.67.
Javier Baez (6 years; $140 million)
When your tenure with your new team that you signed a nine figure contract with is a crass baserunning blunder that got you benched, you know it’s a bad contract. With a glut of great shortstops, the rebuilding Tigers opted to have Baez spearhead what they hoped would be the start of a new contention cycle. What they’ve gotten instead is a sky-high chase rate with insufficient power to justify so many strikeouts and plainly uncompetitive at-bats. Add the defensive and baserunning blunders and you have a magnet for criticism and fan frustration as the Tigers remain firmly rooted to the bottom of the standings. His average has never gone above .240 since he arrived and while he still has pop, he doesn’t generate sufficient quality contact to make it count for as much as he should. His WRC+ was 90 in 2022 and dropped further in 2023. He is therefore a below average run producer with a hefty contract.
Yu Darvish (6 years, $108 milion)
While Yu Darvish has pitched to a respectable 4.36 ERA with a solid 9.7 K/9 rate, a six year, nine digit extension to a player entering his age 36 season is questionable. Not only is it another expensive contract for a team already laden in these kinds of deals, it is also one that is going to be very hard to move later on when the Padres start dealing stars. To make matters worse, the Padres have arguably been the most disappointing team this 2023 season and may find themselves sellers at the deadline. Darvish would be a nice add to shore up a contending team’s rotation. However, his prohibitive contract would make it difficult for that team to move him later if needed, driving down what they would be willing to give the Padres.
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