Money equals power. That seems a logical rule for all major sports around the world. In baseball, that phrase is on a whole other level. Teams constantly spend money to keep their top players together so they can field a winner. With this spending come wise investments and flops that could cost people their jobs. There are still a couple of signings that leave my jaw inches from the floor and others this offseason that leave me scratching my head.
Carl Pavano: Pavano signed a huge four-year, $39.95 million deal after the 2004 season in which he went 18-8 with a 3.00 ERA. Those are solid numbers—but it was definitely a fluke. Pavano was 39-50 before the start of that 2004 season with an ERA of 4.59. Anyone want to spend $40 mil on a player as mediocre as that? To add insult to injury (pun intended) Pavano appeared in only 26 games over three years for the Yankees (only nine games in the last two seasons) because of numerous injuries. Pavano gets a fresh start in Cleveland where he signed for only $1.5 million, but could make up to $5.3 million in performance bonuses. Pavano’s best is definitely behind him. So how about that $40 million…
Roy Halladay: I had to mention Halladay’s name when I brought up Carl Pavano. The Yankees threw $40 million out the window when they signed Pavano, but the Blue Jays would be willing to throw $40 million more at Roy Halladay in order to keep him in a Blue Jays uniform. He signed a three-year, $40 million deal with Toronto before the 2008 season. Halladay is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball and is sometimes overlooked because he plays in the AL East for neither the Red Sox or Yankees. He hasn’t walked 50 batters in a season since 2002 and even then he won 19 games. Halladay’s record since 2002 is 113-49, an incredible .698 winning percentage. And he plays for a team that has only won one more game than they’ve lost since 2002 (The Blue Jays are 567-566 since 2002 or a .500 winning percentage). Not to mention, every time Halladay takes the mound, he expects to finish it. His nine complete games last season were second in the majors to CC Sabathia, the man who signed for $161 million. So the $40 million the Blue Jays spent on Roy Halladay was a tremendous investment.
Carlos Silva: Here’s to the mediocre guy who is really going to change a team around. Let’s give Silva $48 million over four years to go 4-15 with an ERA of 6.46. Just shy of $50 million for a pitcher with a career record under .500 (59-61) and an ERA of 4.61. Hmm…Yeah I just don’t know about that. Silva signed the $48 million contract after a season in which he went 13-14 with a 4.19 ERA. The previous year he was 11-15 with a 5.94 ERA. Those are incredibly ugly numbers for a player making so much money. Pair Silva with teammate Miguel Batista, and the Mariners were one of the worst teams in the Major Leagues last year.
Francisco Rodriguez: The signing would be great for the Mets regardless of finances. This team should have been in the playoffs for two straight years, but fell short both times. The bullpen was cause for concern and the Mets shored up the need by signing K-Rod. Although K-Rod’s $37 million deal over three years is the second highest for a relief pitcher (Mariano Rivera), I would much rather be paying under $40 million for a proven closer than just about $50 million for a complete busted starting pitcher.
Gary Matthews: The first positional player to make the overpaid list. Matthews signed a monster five-year, $50 million deal following the 2006 season with the Rangers after hitting .313 with 19 home runs and 79 RBIs. Those are solid numbers, but look back at his past and you will see a player who never hit over .280 or had more than 17 home runs in a single season before that 2006 season. Talk about performing well in a contract year. Gary Matthews did just that. Not only has he hit only .247 with the Angels, but he also committed a career high eight errors last season in the outfield. Not exactly what the Angels were looking for when they signed him two years ago.
Hanley Ramirez: A true player who deserves every penny of the $70 million he will earn over the next six years. The phrase five-tool talent is thrown around so much nowadays, but Ramirez defines that term to perfection. He’s stolen over 50 bases two out of the last three seasons and has increased his power every season (29 two years ago and 33 last year) since playing every day in 2006. The only think lacking in Ramirez’s game is his defense. He has cut down on his errors from year to year but still needs to improve that aspect of his game. This youngster will remain a prominent face in baseball for many years to come.
Kevin Millwood: Millwood’s back to back seasons with an ERA over 5 as the Rangers’ ace aren’t worth the $60 million he signed for back in 2006. In the last five years, he has only had an ERA under 4.50 once, and of course that was the year before he signed his big deal with the Rangers. While Millwood returns as the Rangers’ ace, he will need to pitch more consistently to prove he was worth the $60 million the Rangers threw his way.
Jose Reyes: Reyes is a similar player to Hanley Ramirez except he signed for nearly $50 million less. His four-year, $23.25 million deal was a steal for the Mets who have Reyes locked up through the 2010 season with a 2011 club option. The 25-year old is the face of the franchise. When he does well, his team does well. He deserves every cent of his contract.
Barry Zito: I think everyone knew that this one was coming. With Zito making $126 million over seven years, any slipup will draw skepticism. His “slipup” this year was tied for the Major League lead with 17 losses. His 5.15 ERA didn’t help matters either. If the numbers weren’t enough, Zito has lost about five miles per hour on his fastball and hitters are picking up the curveball easier. It’s been a disaster for the Giants on this signing.
Brandon Webb: Webb has posted a winning record every season except one, in 2004 when the Diamondbacks lost 111 games. Webb’s career winning percentage of .584 (.654 over the last four seasons) trumps the Diamondbacks’ winning percentage over the same span of .473. Webb is making only $19.75 million over four years (signed the deal in 2006) while teammate Doug Davis is making $22 million over three years. Webb has never once had a season with an ERA over 3.60. Davis has only had one season out of ten in which his ERA was under 3.60 and that was way back in 2004. Any way you look at this one, Brandon Webb is vastly underpaid.
Andruw Jones: This might have been the worst signing in all of baseball over the last two years. Coming off a season in which he hit .222, the Dodgers rewarded Andruw Jones with a two-year, $36.2 million deal. Jones rewarded the Dodgers by hitting .158 with only three home runs last season. The Dodgers let Jones go in the offseason because of his underperformance. The Rangers took a chance on Jones this offseason and signed him to a Minor League contract with an invitation to spring training.
Jimmy Rollins: He’s the heart and soul for the defending World Champions. And he’s only making $8 million per year to do it. Compare his career numbers with Dodgers’ shortstop Rafael Furcal, who makes $2 million more per year, (and made $5 million more per year from 2006-2008) and you’ll see why Rollins is underpaid. And don’t forget, Rollins’ numbers are not the only reason why he should make more money—he is a natural leader and an MVP winner. Rollins and Furcal both entered the league in 2000 and since then Rollins has outplayed Furcal hitting 80 more doubles, 37 more triples, 42 more home runs, 126 more RBIs, and stole 36 more bases. Let’s not forget that Rollins has not fielded under .980 in five straight seasons—an incredible task for a shortstop. Furcal has only fielded over .980 once in his career—he is a .967 career fielder—Rollins is .982. So add the numbers up, combine that with leadership and defense and Rollins is not making as much money as he should be.
Mike Hampton: He was the Barry Zito bust before Zito signed his big deal. Hampton signed an eight-year, $121 million deal in 2001 making him the highest paid pitcher in 2001. He was only the second pitcher ever to sign a deal of over $100 million, Kevin Brown being the other. Did anyone actually consider Mike Hampton the best pitcher in the league in 2001? I really hope not. Let’s put the deal aside and talk about performance. Hampton has missed plenty of games of the past couple of seasons due to injury which just adds to the overpaid tag. And if that wasn’t enough, Hampton responded to the deal by going 14-13 with a 5.41 ERA in 2001, and 7-15 with a 6.15 ERA in 2002. Yikes!! Hampton is looking for a fresh start with the Houston Astros after he signed a $2 million contract. Now that money is more like it for Hampton.
Ryan Ludwick: Ludwick turned out a great season hitting .299 with 37 home runs and 113 RBIs. He was rewarded with a $3.7 million contract this offseason which is a nice deal. Ludwick was a late bloomer, not playing full time until this season at the age of 30. So the Cardinals got a good deal by signing the slugger for only $3.7 million.
Jeff Suppan: The Brewers finally broke their tradition of spending little in free agency to develop talent through the Minor Leagues. They probably should have stood firm to their tradition of developing talent. Suppan hasn’t panned out the way the Brewers hoped. He is only 22-22 with a 4.78 ERA with the Crew. His career numbers aren’t much better—128-123 with a 4.63 ERA. Onto the monetary issues: he’s making $42 million over four years. He brings experience to a young staff this year, but sometimes youth is better to have. And in this case, it probably is.
Adrian Gonzalez: He is the only player on the Padres that can hit for both average and power. His last two seasons he averaged 33 home runs and 109 RBIs. And what does he get in return? $9.5 million for four years. Carlos Silva makes more than that in one year!! I don’t think anything more needs to be said on this issue except he is one of the most underpaid players in the league.
These four players signed deals this offseason that made me question who is making management decisions for some teams.
A.J. Burnett: Burnett is now the fifth highest paid player on the Yankees—$82.5 million for five years. Burnett represents the classic case of playing well in a contract season. He went 18-10 last year and led the American League with 231 strikeouts. The problem with the signing isn’t lack of “stuff”, but rather his injury history. Burnett was 69-66 entering last season, but the real red flag is the fact that he has only pitched in 30 games three seasons out of his 10 in the league. $82.5 million is a hefty price to pay for a risk like that, but that’s what makes the Yankees the Yankees.
Tim Lincecum: The reigning National League Cy Young winner signed a contract today worth $650,000?! That is a true fact. The 18 game winner who led all of Major League baseball with 265 strikeouts signed a one-year deal for less than a million. This automatically makes the 24-year old underpaid. If Lincecum could win 18 games with the Giants last year, imagine what he could do for a team with an offense. Lincecum is a bright, young star and has a fantastic career ahead of him.
Milton Bradley: I have stood firm on my belief that the Milton Bradley signing was a poor decision by the Cubs (
January 16th article on the right type of risk). Bradley reminds me a lot like Gary Matthews—he’s a career .280 hitter but never hit more than 19 home runs in a season before last year when he hit 22. He also completed the task as a designated hitter with the Rangers last year. He will now have to play in the outfield, something he has only done 78 times over the last three years. Injuries have plagued Bradley in the past and I have a feeling that next year will be no different. The Cubs disagree with me and they decided to give Bradley $30 million over three years. I have a feeling that they will look back on this one and regret their decision.
Josh Hamilton: He is the equivalent of Tim Lincecum except the hitter. He signed a one-year, $555 thousand deal two days ago. I realize Hamilton has had a shaky past with his drug problems, but that is far in the rearview window. He is now a born again Christian who gets tested three times a week for drugs. On the field, he is a monster. He set the record for most home runs in a single round in the home run derby last year with 28. Not only did he blast 28 home runs, but each home run he hit seemed to travel farther and farther. It was priceless to hear Chris Berman doing his back, back, back, back, gone! The season also went well for Hamilton who hit .304 with 32 home runs and 130 RBIs. He led all of Major League Baseball with those 130 driven in and he was rewarded with half a million dollars. Hamilton is a feel good story and an even better player who deserves to be making more money. Therefore, he might be one of the most underpaid players in all of the league.
So teams might want to be more careful with how they spend their money. You don’t want to be the team representing another dud who stumbles once the money is in his hands. So for all those general managers and team owners out there, beware on how you spend your money because in today’s world, you can never be too careful.
