Which MLB Contract Would You Get Rid Of??

[blueline]

I read this a few days ago and started thinking about it. Here is a snippet of the entire article. It is pretty much self-explanatory. Apparently they did this in the NBA a few years back. I do not follow the NBA anymore, other than looking up at the occassional Celtic highlight or glancing over the headlines on the Boston Globe website. Perhaps Bob McCowan could explain it to me.

Discussion: Which Contract Would You Get Rid Of?

By Mike Axisa [June 22 at 9:00pm CST]
In his Hardball column yesterday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post says that MLB should allow a "one-time, one-contract reprieve for all 30 teams." Similar to what the NBA did in 2005, Sherman basically says each team should be allowed to rid themselves of one contract, with MLB's central fund absorbing the money owed to the players. Those 30 players would then become free agents.

Okay - so, if you were an MLB GM, which contract would you like to get rid of?

I will start with my Red Sox, however, it us a toss up between two players. Julio Lugo at $9MM per season til the end of 2010. He is going to be released anyways, as soon as Jed Lowrie returns. Lugo has been a total bust. One could argue that JD Drew has not been worth the $14 MM per season (til the end of 2010) but at least he has done more than Lugo, so I could live with that one. Lastly, Dice-K is becoming Dud-K. I posted the details of his contract in another thread, but he will get somewhere around $10MM per season and will be around until 2012. Forget that $51 MM posting fee the Sox had to pay just to talk to him, that was paid to his former team the Seibu Lions, so Boston wouldn't get that back under this scenario. Hard choice Dice-K or Lugo. Since Dice-K has a longer contract, I would choose him to go.

How about other contracts throughout MLB? Barry Zito? A-Rod? CC or AJ? I am sure Jays fans would like to see at least one contract dumped.

 

[SkyRider]

Wells, even at his best, never should have got the contract he did.

Did Wells ever win the MVP or led the league in any major positive offensive categories (BA, RBI or HR)?

 

[SkyRider]

Not bad, but not enough to justify a 7-year, $126 million deal, which at the time, was the sixth largest in baseball history.

Wells isn't even the best player on the Blue Jays. In fact, I don't think that Wells even ranks in the top 8 players among the Jays. He is definitely not even in the top 50 in the majors.

 

[blueline]

I would be interested in which contract Yankee fans would choose to unload. There are plenty to choose from.

A-Rod might be my choice. He has never brought them a championship and IMO, he will never be considered a true Yankee, compared to a Jeter, Bernie Williams, possibly a Posada. He has been more trouble (both on and off the field) than he has been worth, but that's just what I think. Then you can look at AJ and CC. To this point, they aren't exactly what you would expect in return for a $240MM investment. Teixeira shoud be okay for at least a few years, but I think they will be sick of him by the time his contract runs out. How many of these long term deals do we see that end up being a real mess at some point?

 

[shatrat]

barry zito

 

[shatrat]

when it comes to awful contracts you have to look at the term to not just the yearly value

 

[SkyRider]

Then you can look at AJ and CC. To this point, they aren't exactly what you would expect in return for a $240MM investment.

Maybe the Wells contract prevented the Jays from signing AJ (again) and/or CC. If the Jay's GM hadn't screwed up by signing Wells, he would probably have screwed by signing AJ again and/or CC. Some GM's will always find a way to screwup, just like some people are always walking into sharp objects.

 

[blueline]

A few more.........

* Travis Hafner 4 years, $57MM ($14.25MM per year). Signed through 2011. Career year in 2006, signs big contract in 2007 and has decent season (HR, RBI) followed by two injury-filled seasons (2008 and so far, half of 2009).

* Dontrelle Willis 3 years, $29MM ($9.66MM per year). Signed through 2010. Saw him pitch recently, it was sad to see how far he has slipped. He was back in 'A' ball for a time. A former 20 game winner. Now on DL with anxiety disorder.

* Manny Ramirez 2 years, $45MM through 2010. Juan Pierre is no Manny, but they are doing just fine in his absence. There were several other options available to the Dodgers in the off season at a whole lot less money and without the drama.

* Gary Matthews Jr. 5 years, $50MM ($10MM per year). Signed through 2011. The Halos were enticed by Matthews' career year, but he has regressed since. Go figure, a player having a terrific season to get a big contract, then becoming a bust.

* Magglio Ordonez 5 years, $80 MM (16 MM per year). Relegated to the bench, possibly a way to avoid vesting options for 2010, or just because he flat out stinks. Scott Boras thinks it is the former, Jim Leyland says it is the latter and told Boras he is full of shit.

 

[blueline]

when it comes to awful contracts you have to look at the term to not just the yearly value

You are right, but, I don't think Yankee fans always see it that way. Teixeira sure heard the boos back in April when he was hitting less than his weight. They want a winner and they want it - yesterday, not within the next 4-8 years. That is pretty much why they quickly scrapped their plan to develop young players and work them into their lineup for the long term. They missed the playoffs last year and then they set records for spending out of desperation.

 

[SkyRider]

I think I heard that the NFL contracts allow a team to simply release a player and the contract is no longer valid. Is this true? Are the MLB contracts valid even if you release the player or if the player can't show up for games because he is injured or in prison?

 

[canbreathethroughearsmale]

I know this one is already off their books, but do you remember the contract Mike Hampton got?

 

[blueline]

I had forgotten about the Hampton contract until you brought it up. I am not sure which pitcher contract is/was the worst - Barry Zito or Mike Hampton. Is there one worse for a pitcher? Those two have to be 1A and 1B. Carl Pavano is a close second.

 

[shatrat]

you look at contracts in the their full term lets take ordonez for instance... he was awesome the first couple of years in his contract now he sucks so basically it may be an awful contract now but when you look at the full contract its not as bad. remember precap nhl? when the free agent age was 31 every team got saddled with horrible contracts because they were rewarding players past their prime so i think looking forward you have to look to players whose contracts extend into their mid thirtes at an escalating rate ie vernon

 

[Toke]

Worst contracts ever (I don't remember all the terms, but these names come to mind):

Carl Pavano in NYY
Matt Clement in BOS
Joey Hamilton, Randy Myers, Mike Sirotka, Frank Thomas (check my post history, I called this one) in TOR
Barry Zito in SF (possibly the worst ever)
Dontrelle Willis in DET (Not to mention what they traded for him)
Kevin Brown (This contract started the current ridiculousness we're seeing), Darren Driefort and Chan Ho Park in LAD
Bobby Bonillia in NYM
The year the Devil Rays signed McGriff, Canseco, Greg Vaughn and Vinny Castilla... they thought they'd literally 'bomb' their way to the top.

Makes you wonder how players like Micheal Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Barry Bonds went as long as they did not being the highest paid players in their leagues...

 

[blueline]

Worst contracts ever (I don't remember all the terms, but these names come to mind):

Carl Pavano in NYY
Matt Clement in BOS
Joey Hamilton, Randy Myers, Mike Sirotka, Frank Thomas (check my post history, I called this one) in TOR
Barry Zito in SF (possibly the worst ever)
Dontrelle Willis in DET (Not to mention what they traded for him)
Kevin Brown (This contract started the current ridiculousness we're seeing), Darren Driefort and Chan Ho Park in LAD
Bobby Bonillia in NYM
The year the Devil Rays signed McGriff, Canseco, Greg Vaughn and Vinny Castilla... they thought they'd literally 'bomb' their way to the top.

Makes you wonder how players like Micheal Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Barry Bonds went as long as they did not being the highest paid players in their leagues...

But ..... keeping on topic here, whose contract would you dump from the current Yankees? We have already had Red Sox and Blue Jays takes, a mention of Barry Zito, I listed a few others, but I am curious as to who Yankees fans would choose.

 

[popodaki]

But ..... keeping on topic here, whose contract would you dump from the current Yankees? We have already had Red Sox and Blue Jays takes, a mention of Barry Zito, I listed a few others, but I am curious as to who Yankees fans would choose.

I'm sure a lot of Yankees fans would say A-Rod, simply because the team hasn't won anything while he's been there and for his poor postseason numbers.

Johnny Damon might be another choice, although his contract is up at season's end.

 

[popodaki]

Mariners fans would probably say Carlos Silva (4 years, 48 million). The guy completely stinks. Last year, Silva was 4-15 with a 6.46 ERA. This season his ERA is over eight and he has just been put on the 60 day DL.

Adrian Beltre (5 years, 64 million), might be another one. While he has put up decent numbers, I don't think they are anywhere near expectations.

 

[Toke]

But ..... keeping on topic here, whose contract would you dump from the current Yankees? We have already had Red Sox and Blue Jays takes, a mention of Barry Zito, I listed a few others, but I am curious as to who Yankees fans would choose.

To be honest, now that I am tired of hearing about all the steroid use in the game (as well as many players who I idolized growing up; McGwire, Canseco, Bonds, and Rodriguez, to name a few), I'm pretty much fed up as a MLB fan. I like the game, but to this point, I have yet to watch and MLB games this season. I'd rather watch amateurs. So to really say that I am a Yankees fan at the moment would be somewhat wrong. Call me a distant fan.

I digress...

To answer the original question as to who's contract I would void if I were the Yankees, it would have to be A-Rod. CC and AJ may prove to be 'bad' contracts in the future, but A-Rod's contract is worse. Here's why:

- Part of the reason the Yankees agreed to pay him more was for his superstar status and the fact that he has a very good chance to pass Bonds on the all time list. With his recent revelation, any chase he makes will be engulfed in scrutiny as to how long he took steroids before the official ban.

- His off-field antics have been too much of a distraction, and although the Yankees are always in the New York news, they can't be happy about A-Rod's press.

- He can't be traded. The best player in the league or not, the above reasons make him unmovable. So given the chance to rid the contract with no strings attached would be a good time to 'cut the loses'.

- No other contract on the team really qualifies to be cut loose. Guys are at the very end or very begining of their contracts.

- Winning a WS would not have changed my opinion. He's baggage not worth carrying.

All that said, I was against the trade from the beginning anyhow. They had Soriano at a fraction of the cost. They made the move not because it made baseball sense, but good business sense. A-Rod's actions before (as we have learned) and since he arrived in NY now make the deal (and his contract) look iffy in regards to 'baseball sense' and very bad for business.

I like how the NFL works. Not only does a player have to perform on the field to earn and keep his contract, but they have very strict conduct policies that players also have to adhere to. I think every team should have the right (or add the provision) that players contracts can become null, if the players 'conduct' is detrimental to the team.

 

[blueline]

^^^^ That's pretty much what I expected to hear. I was talking to a friend who is a long time Yankees fan and he pretty much agrees with me that A-Rod would be the one contract that he too, would like to burn. Like I posted earlier, IMO he has just been more trouble than anything. Now I read last weekend that he is tired. Then I see a story he was seen out in the early (late) hours in Miami with Kate Hudson, when they were there last weekend. Of course these athletes are just like regular people, in that they have a life away from baseball. No problem. But A-Rod often seems to be in the middle of some story. Fair or unfair, he just seems to make some poor choices (on and off the field) and says some stupid things. Whitey, Billy and The Mick were known for their extra-curricular activities, but when it was time to play, they could be counted on. Plus they have something A-Rod may never have - championships. Until A-Rod helps bring one to NY, he won't get a free pass.

 

[SkyRider]

Whitey, Billy and The Mick were known for their extra-curricular activities,

They are also from a bygone era, before CNN and 24 hour internet news and when the media had respect for players' private lives.

These long term guaranteed contracts reminds me of guys who married (without pre nup) their hot girlfriends after 3 years of dating and then once married - no more BBBJ.