In this video, I give my pick for the worst MLB free agent each team in Major League Baseball has ever signed. Thumbnail- x.com/lineardesigns_?s=21&t=G...
I will forever say Josh Hamilton is a worse signing for the Angels than Pujols. Pujols actually put up some decent value in the first half of that contract and it brought veteran leadership to the clubhouse (Mike Trout still credits Pujols for a lot of his success and his ability to lead) and intrigue as Pujols was chasing history. Hamilton was released after 1 subpar season and was being paid by the Angels to play for their division rival (and play better than when he was with the Angels). Rendon will be worse than both though.
I always felt cheated, if that's the right word with Josh Hamilton. He was the guy who beat his addictions and came back and had that amazing home run derby, in New York, in Yankee Stadium, in front of a crowd who no matter what their affiliation was, cheered for him like he was the reincarnation of Babe Ruth. But then when I learned how abusive he was to his family that whole time, it really left a bad taste in my mouth. Sometimes great talent is wasted on the wrong people.
@@PHXNKVHXLIC who's crying just pointing out mistakes....take the first team he picks (Angels) -- HOW is Pujols a worse signing than Mo Vaughn was ...?
I gotta go with the Carl Crawford contract being worse for Boston. Especially in hindsight, giving him that deal instead of resigning Beltre at a way lesser cost is likely Epstein's worst decision as GM of the Red Sox. Not to mention Crawford was insanely redundant on the team with Ellsbury already on the team.
Heyward did what he needed to do with the Cubs. Didn't put up massive numbers, but he was a calming presence in the clubhouse and did everything he could to improve the Chicago community as well
Jeff Suppan is the right answer for the brewers, but Jeffery Hammonds was another shocker. Guy spent most of his career on a trainers bench and the one good year he had was with the Rockies
Chan Ho Park is a famous name in my family. We're all Cardinal fans. I watched Park give up two grand slams in the same inning _to the same batter_ -- Fernando Tatis (Sr.). Tatis set two records that day that will probably never be broken (number of GS in one inning, number of RBI in one inning).
I don’t think the Bauer contract was that bad. He pitched very well in the half season he played. They did have to pay him to the end of that year until the suspension was handed out but didn’t have to pay him the next year since he was on the restricted list. The thing that screwed them was having to pay for the last year since mlb reverted the suspension.
Jason Schmidt never pitched an inning for the Dodgers. And another category for the worst signing they never made was for Tim Raines, which they tried to explain away by saying they didn’t need him Because they already had Kenny Landreaux.
@StevenBlaugh-zt8gn Schmidt pitched 43.1 innings for the Dodgers. Pedro Gurrero was the primary LF in 1987 and hit .338 with 27 HR. Worst non signing was Vladimir Gurerro in 2004.
Strasburg’s such a heartbreaking case. He hasn’t lived up to it at all, through no fault of his own, but I think if you told Washington fans they could avoid this contract by giving up their World Series, I think they’d sign him to that deal with no hesitation. Also thank you for not picking the low hanging fruit and saying Kris Bryant, lots of people pick Bryant just because of recency bias and it’s lazy
Great content, great editing, great audio. I see your channel growing quite a bit man. Very nicely done. Sox fan here as well - South Shore represent \m/
Ellsbury was bad, but it's hard to top Carl Pavano in terms of worst free-agent signings for the Yankees. $40 million over four years-- and only played in 26 games.
Great list! Man I forgot about a lot of these deals. One could probably nitpick some of the entries, but it's interesting to note how many of these deals turned sour because of the player's poor attitude.
For the Royals, Juan Gonzalez back in 2004. It was only $4 million, but I do remember how much optimism there was after their 2003 season. Only got 5 homers and 17 rbis in 33 games from him
Great vid. I'm ashamed to admit I didn't realize this was in alphabetical order by team name until about 18 minutes in. Also...LaRoche was bad for the ChiSox, but holy shit...Grandal...and good lord, Andrew Benintendi getting the biggest Sox FA contract ever, only to play like he was out there playing T-ball.
Swindell signed out of college with a suspect arm. At the University of Texas, especially in his junior year in 1986, Gregg threw a lot of sliders. (The head coach of the baseball team was the person who told which pitches Swindell had to throw.) He was envisioned to be the left-handed version of Roger Clemens. And it didn't materialize.
I can buy the Pujols one being marginally worse if not for any other reason than because giving a guy entering his age-32 season an enormous 10-year contract is near guaranteed to start being a waste of money at some point, no matter who the player is. Obviously I'm sure they knew that, I guess it's a compromise you have to make if you're looking to sign a first-ballot hall of famer, but still. They were definitely both very questionable from the beginning though. The yearly salary was nearly identical.
Ooo, have to go with Pat Burrell for the Rays there. Not only was he terrible since he couldn't handle playing DH, it came in the middle of the Rays' first real playoff window where it would have been REALLY nice to capitalize on their 08 success with how many core guys were still there for 09/10. Instead, we got a total flop that constricted the Rays' options with other moves both financially and roster space-wise. I'd say he also reinforced some bad habits with the Rays as far as not signing bats and particularly defensively challenged DH types to decent FA contracts with how bad his performance was. I don't think it's crazy to say that the Pat Burrell dud helped prevent the Rays from signing Nelson Cruz back when he was actually good, instead of trading for him right when he went into decline, for instance.
As a Rockies fan since David Nied was drafted 1st in the Expansion Draft of 1992...pretty much any FA they signed and especially as a pitcher (oh he's a groundball inducing pitcher he'll do well here at Coors where sinkers sink as well as helium balloons.)
I am surprised Pat Burrell wasn't the Rays worst free agent because he was immediately who came to mind for me. For someone nicknamed "Pat the BAT" and was said to be the Rays appointed designated hitter, he stunk. Was an unproductive bat in the lineup, and to that point was scrapping his career low marks in almost every offensive category. This was in 2009, no less, when the Rays were trying to defend the AL pennant. Finally they released him, but then he went on to be a star hitter with the Giants. The Rays really blew that signing.
Chan ho park was the best of a bad pitchers free agent market. Point of interest, radio host and news columnist Randy Galloway referred to any Ranger loss that was caused by Chan Ho as a “Ho hole “.
Giants fan and SF Bay Area native here. Rowand had a decent first season with them but the scutlebutt in town was that he was basically clubhouse deodorant after Barry Bonds, whose final years felt like a dreary march towards a PED-tainted quest to be the home run king. The morale on those mid-aughties Giants teams was bad. I would say the Barry Zito deal was much worse. They totally outbid the Mets by, if I recall, a large amount of money for a guy who was never dominating to begin with. Yes, he redeemed himself in 2012 but he had so many bad blowup starts on the balance of that awful contract.
We should almost have a "A" list and a "B" list....The "B" could people like Vernon Wells, Matt Joyce, Shane Victerino, Raul Ibanez, Justin Upton, Andres Galleraga......guys that were really so done you could cut them with a fork!
Javy Baez's contract with the Tigers is going to be their worst. Kris Bryant's with the Rockies may be the next. It's a real shame the Cubs didn't trade all those guys for huge ransoms the year prior though. Crazy how they could have had 4 players on that team as the worst contracts signed by different teams
The Braves worst signing was Derek Lowe. He was a two-time All-Star, had garnered a third-place finish in Cy Young votes earlier in his career, and was a World Series champion in 2004. The Braves had very high hopes of him playing at that pace. Almost instantly, the Atlanta Braves organization started to regret this signing. Lowe gave up the second-most hits per 9 innings in his career, his highest WHIP of his career, while posting an ERA that was 12% below average (4.67).For the next two years, Lowe never had an ERA+ at or above the league average, and his WHIP and strikeout to walk ratio continued to be an issue. After posting a 76 ERA+ in 2011, the Braves had enough and ended up trading him to Cleveland to help mitigate some of the payroll damage.
I agree, Madison Bumgarner should be considered the worst for the Diamondbacks. Signed in late 2019, only two full seasons (2021 and 2022) plus the COVID-shortened 2020 season and four games in 2023 before being released. www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bumgama01.shtml#2020-2023-sum:pitching_standard
If Ohtani when he is able to pitch again can't get back to pre injury form that's not a bad take. If he is only the hitter they could have spent half that money and nearly got the same bat.
They recouped substantial amount of the money given to Pujjols for the tv contract they were awarded when they signed him.. and for the number of tickets they sold.. remember he achieved some serious records in angels uniform.. and for the record, he was better than average duing the first 4 years of his contract
ryan howard’s extension is probably the worst phillies contract imo, injuries really sapped him of his power and made him a shell of his former self after 2011. i used to see him from time to time at whole foods lol but that was during those dark years
But at the time Suppan signed with our Crew it was the largest in franchise history. Add in what it symbolized for a franchise with a wealth of young talent coming in, it really hurt. Great guy though.
Trevor Bauer was proven innocent of those false allegations and his time in the MLB was screwed because of it. So how can it really be the worst if he didn’t have a chance to fulfill it because of false allegations?
You're wrong about Trevor Bauer. The worst contract for the Dodgers will always be Andruw Jones. The Dodgers signed a $36.2 million dollar, 2-year contract with him in 2007. That would be a $53.7 million dollar contract in 2023. He showed up in 2008 out of shape and couldn't hit above .200. He injured himself in May but came back in July and still under performed. He was eventually benched, then released at the end of the season. His entire tenure with the Dodgers, he underperformed and had a poor attitude. Afterwards, he blamed the fans for not supporting him. As to TB, while the Dodgers technically lost a bit more, the signing itself was a good one. He was performing up until his suspension. And, based on what we know, that suspension was not a good one and I'm still baffled why the Dodgers released him. Especially since they needed pitching.
Oh of course the initial signing was great! However, they ended up paying all that $ for pretty much 17 starts 😂 I definitely understand the Andruw Jones contract though.
Yes, there aren't a lot of big free agent signings for the Cleveland franchise but I don't think many fans viewed Nick Swisher as that bad a signing. He brought a lot of energy to the team and the fans liked his hustle. His Ohio/Ohio State ties made him kind of a "hometown hero". He had some big hits for some competitive teams. The injuries did make him overpriced, so I do get the choice. Does anybody remember the Wayne Garland deal?
Pujols over Hamilton or what seemingly may end up being the worst, Rendon? not sure about that one. How many tickets did albert sell chasing 500, 600, or hit 3000?
Don't know if Rusney Castillo of the Boston Red Sox would be considered a "free agent", but his seven-year, $72.5 million contract just to play in the minor leagues is pretty bad
I'd say this one was worse than Sandoval. Castillo only had 73 at-bats in the Majors and was then stashed in Pawtucket so his contract wouldn't count against the luxury tax. Sandoval at least played most of a season.
Pirates you mean. He had been in three prior organizations before the Pirates: the Expos drafted him in 2000, traded him to the Mets in March 2002 for Lou Collier and then the Mets traded him away at the 2002 deadline to the Padres. Pirates got him and Ollie Perez (lol) from the Padres for Brian Giles. There’s a few weird early 2000s “throw in” pieces for the Mets that blew up years later. Nelson Cruz was in their system and Jose Bautista was a Met for a few minutes at the 2004 deadline before being traded in the Kris Benson deal
Phillies Danny Tartabull fouled a ball off his foot and never played again he just played in 3 games in 97. Gregg Jeffries also a runner up for the Phillies they signed him he couldn't find a position to play here i think was traded to Kansas City and played better .
The way u statistically compared pujols is fair enough. But, angels hired pujols for other reasons. And it worked. Believe it or not. The ohtani situation is totally different. Dodgers want 10 more pennants, and at least 3 world championships. Maybe 4. 😂😂😂😂❤❤❤😊😊
Phillies phan here. We all HATED Arietta. Feared when he pitched. He was god awful, a HR machine. When he left we legit threw a party in my family and celebrated it.
Your response when I didn't like you giving the Padres an A+ for trading for Soto: "I disagree with you that there wasn’t skill involved. So you’re going to tell me that those players they traded didn’t require any scouting or player development? When you have a chance to trade for a once in a generation type of player, you do it. You build up for your farm so those players can either help your own organization, or to use as assets. It’s good to go against the grain sometimes, but this ain’t it." Update?
I can't think of a single Cubs fan I know that wouldn't put Meltdown Bradley as the worst signing ever. While J-Hey was mostly MIA at the plate, his gold glove and leadership helped steer the Cubs to their 2016 championship. By comparison, Bradley did squat. Cheers....
Dexter Folwer not only sucked in his final two seasons where Cardinals fans could have see the audition of Adolis Garcia or Randy Arozarena instead, but alas the big brass with the big brains that gets paid millions to make these choices decided trading Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen to get Ozuna and singing Fowler was the better idea? They say hindsight is 20/20? But for them im sure they dont even see it right... Been a Cardinals fan for 33 years... this is the first year im Boycotting over trading away any player with personality to go be an all star for another team over "philosophical differences"
@@rhyde well, yeah, that's true, but miami the city is not a small market, it's just the team runs like it is. I've always been under the assumption that saying a team is small market was talking about the market they reside in
Ryan Howard 2012-2016; a bust in every possible way. It’s unwise to offer any major contract to a player older than 28, but baseball’s archaic way of doing business won’t die easily.
True! Didn’t want to do Rendon because it’s still in the deal. I didn’t do Hamilton because they were on the hook for a lot more money and years than Hamilton.
As a Reds fan I completely forgot about Eric Milton but I would put Mike Moustakas up there with him. I don’t even think he played a full year on the 4yr/65 million contract. To my knowledge he didn’t even hit .260 and or even hit 15 homers.
Cardinals Brett Cecil contract was terrible. 30 million 4 years no trade clause. played 2 years, one of which he had a 6.89 era. the next two years he was hurt, and then was healing and then got hurt again. then retired.
I will forever say Josh Hamilton is a worse signing for the Angels than Pujols. Pujols actually put up some decent value in the first half of that contract and it brought veteran leadership to the clubhouse (Mike Trout still credits Pujols for a lot of his success and his ability to lead) and intrigue as Pujols was chasing history. Hamilton was released after 1 subpar season and was being paid by the Angels to play for their division rival (and play better than when he was with the Angels). Rendon will be worse than both though.
Anthony Rendon for sure.
Hamilton was only there for 2 seasons and wasnt nearly as bad as pujols eventually was
I always felt cheated, if that's the right word with Josh Hamilton. He was the guy who beat his addictions and came back and had that amazing home run derby, in New York, in Yankee Stadium, in front of a crowd who no matter what their affiliation was, cheered for him like he was the reincarnation of Babe Ruth. But then when I learned how abusive he was to his family that whole time, it really left a bad taste in my mouth. Sometimes great talent is wasted on the wrong people.
I agree. Albert had some production in his tenure.
@@9999bigb I'm somewhat removed from west coast sports and only knew of Hamilton's drug problem. What did Hamilton do?
Anthony Rendon may have been a worse FA signing in Anaheim than 1st ballot HOFer AP.
very true..... this guy making the video apparently doesn't know jack about ballplayers
Agreed. I think Rendon will be worse when it's all said and done. I bet Robbie didn't include him bc he can still make it right.
I'd vote Hamilton before Rendon. At least Rendon still has a chance to redeem himself. We already know the conclusion of Hamilton.
@@csnide6702this guy knows plenty about baseball lol this is opinion based anyway no need to cry about his list
@@PHXNKVHXLIC who's crying just pointing out mistakes....take the first team he picks (Angels) -- HOW is Pujols a worse signing than Mo Vaughn was ...?
the swisher deal also gave the yankees a compensatory first round pick, in which they drafted aaron judge with that pick
I like how you jump right into your videos without any overdone intros. Your editing is great, and you are very informative. I love your videos!
I gotta go with the Carl Crawford contract being worse for Boston. Especially in hindsight, giving him that deal instead of resigning Beltre at a way lesser cost is likely Epstein's worst decision as GM of the Red Sox. Not to mention Crawford was insanely redundant on the team with Ellsbury already on the team.
Epstein gets a pass twice on this list even with 2 of the worst signings ever in Crawford and Heyward.
Heyward did what he needed to do with the Cubs. Didn't put up massive numbers, but he was a calming presence in the clubhouse and did everything he could to improve the Chicago community as well
Cubs are actually looking to bring Heyward back too.
Bahaha.
Jeff Suppan is the right answer for the brewers, but Jeffery Hammonds was another shocker. Guy spent most of his career on a trainers bench and the one good year he had was with the Rockies
Yup as a Brewers fan I said Suppan and Hammonds before the video. Perhaps Matt Garza as second or Kyle Lohse both were terrible.
I was going to come on and comment about Hammonds as well, but you hit the nail on the head.
Chan Ho Park is a famous name in my family. We're all Cardinal fans.
I watched Park give up two grand slams in the same inning _to the same batter_ -- Fernando Tatis (Sr.). Tatis set two records that day that will probably never be broken (number of GS in one inning, number of RBI in one inning).
I don’t think the Bauer contract was that bad. He pitched very well in the half season he played. They did have to pay him to the end of that year until the suspension was handed out but didn’t have to pay him the next year since he was on the restricted list. The thing that screwed them was having to pay for the last year since mlb reverted the suspension.
But I feel Darren Dreifort was worse
@@ahronr25 what about Daryl Strawberry? Biggest contract at the time for one season.
@@user-iq2hy4ug4y one year contracts aren’t the end of the world. You could say the same about Syndergaard last year
Jason Schmidt never pitched an inning for the Dodgers. And another category for the worst signing they never made was for Tim Raines, which they tried to explain away by saying they didn’t need him
Because they already had Kenny Landreaux.
@StevenBlaugh-zt8gn
Schmidt pitched 43.1 innings for the Dodgers. Pedro Gurrero was the primary LF in 1987 and hit .338 with 27 HR. Worst non signing was Vladimir Gurerro in 2004.
Strasburg’s such a heartbreaking case. He hasn’t lived up to it at all, through no fault of his own, but I think if you told Washington fans they could avoid this contract by giving up their World Series, I think they’d sign him to that deal with no hesitation.
Also thank you for not picking the low hanging fruit and saying Kris Bryant, lots of people pick Bryant just because of recency bias and it’s lazy
Wasn't expecting an inadvertent defense of Jason Hayward, but I'm here for it
Who? You mean Jason Heyward.
Great content, great editing, great audio. I see your channel growing quite a bit man. Very nicely done. Sox fan here as well - South Shore represent \m/
Over the course of his time in Colorado Mike Hampton was worth .3 WAR. The only reason his WAR was positive is because he put up 1.9 WAR as a hitter
Straight to the point. No 5 minute breakdown intro 👌
I love that, I love ANY YT'er who realizes we are here FOR THE CONTENT and not to watch their attempt to break into the entertainment industry!
Ellsbury was bad, but it's hard to top Carl Pavano in terms of worst free-agent signings for the Yankees. $40 million over four years-- and only played in 26 games.
Came here to say this.
Great list! Man I forgot about a lot of these deals. One could probably nitpick some of the entries, but it's interesting to note how many of these deals turned sour because of the player's poor attitude.
Funny how all of a sudden a switch just gets flipped
Rendon for the angels is worse
I remember that I wanted the Pirates to sign Suppan so badly back then.
For the Royals, Juan Gonzalez back in 2004. It was only $4 million, but I do remember how much optimism there was after their 2003 season. Only got 5 homers and 17 rbis in 33 games from him
he was washed up by then.
I just said that about him going to the Tigers! What a bum..
i agree with this, the reason it was worse is that as soon as he got his roster bonus he faked injuries just to keep cashing those paychecks
BJ Upton was so bad with the Braves that he started going by Melvin Upton Jr. after he left. He needed a rebrand.
Darren dreifort should be dodgers worst contract
That’s a name I haven’t heard for a long time
Great vid. I'm ashamed to admit I didn't realize this was in alphabetical order by team name until about 18 minutes in. Also...LaRoche was bad for the ChiSox, but holy shit...Grandal...and good lord, Andrew Benintendi getting the biggest Sox FA contract ever, only to play like he was out there playing T-ball.
Well done bro…I enjoyed this
Swindell signed out of college with a suspect arm. At the University of Texas, especially in his junior year in 1986, Gregg threw a lot of sliders. (The head coach of the baseball team was the person who told which pitches Swindell had to throw.) He was envisioned to be the left-handed version of Roger Clemens. And it didn't materialize.
How can the Josh Hamilton contract not be worse that Alberts?
**Rendon has entered the chat**
The biggest debate of all time- Pujols’ contract vs Hamilton’s contract 😂
I can buy the Pujols one being marginally worse if not for any other reason than because giving a guy entering his age-32 season an enormous 10-year contract is near guaranteed to start being a waste of money at some point, no matter who the player is. Obviously I'm sure they knew that, I guess it's a compromise you have to make if you're looking to sign a first-ballot hall of famer, but still. They were definitely both very questionable from the beginning though. The yearly salary was nearly identical.
Would you say that one year deal pujols signed with the birds, turned out to be one the best FA signings?
Ooo, have to go with Pat Burrell for the Rays there. Not only was he terrible since he couldn't handle playing DH, it came in the middle of the Rays' first real playoff window where it would have been REALLY nice to capitalize on their 08 success with how many core guys were still there for 09/10. Instead, we got a total flop that constricted the Rays' options with other moves both financially and roster space-wise. I'd say he also reinforced some bad habits with the Rays as far as not signing bats and particularly defensively challenged DH types to decent FA contracts with how bad his performance was. I don't think it's crazy to say that the Pat Burrell dud helped prevent the Rays from signing Nelson Cruz back when he was actually good, instead of trading for him right when he went into decline, for instance.
As a Rockies fan since David Nied was drafted 1st in the Expansion Draft of 1992...pretty much any FA they signed and especially as a pitcher (oh he's a groundball inducing pitcher he'll do well here at Coors where sinkers sink as well as helium balloons.)
Thanks for putting the teams in an order where it’s easy to find the one you’re looking for. /s
It's alphabetical by team name
I had a feeling it was going to be Jason Bay for my Mets. There’s so many bad signings to pick from
I am surprised Pat Burrell wasn't the Rays worst free agent because he was immediately who came to mind for me. For someone nicknamed "Pat the BAT" and was said to be the Rays appointed designated hitter, he stunk. Was an unproductive bat in the lineup, and to that point was scrapping his career low marks in almost every offensive category. This was in 2009, no less, when the Rays were trying to defend the AL pennant. Finally they released him, but then he went on to be a star hitter with the Giants. The Rays really blew that signing.
Chan ho park was the best of a bad pitchers free agent market. Point of interest, radio host and news columnist Randy Galloway referred to any Ranger loss that was caused by Chan Ho as a “Ho hole “.
Billy Butler was worth it just because of his great nickname. “Country Breakfast”.
Giants fan and SF Bay Area native here. Rowand had a decent first season with them but the scutlebutt in town was that he was basically clubhouse deodorant after Barry Bonds, whose final years felt like a dreary march towards a PED-tainted quest to be the home run king. The morale on those mid-aughties Giants teams was bad. I would say the Barry Zito deal was much worse. They totally outbid the Mets by, if I recall, a large amount of money for a guy who was never dominating to begin with. Yes, he redeemed himself in 2012 but he had so many bad blowup starts on the balance of that awful contract.
How is cano not the mariners pick? And Hamilton for the angels? Are we watching the same sport?
It’s hard to just pick one for the Angels. Pujols, Josh Hamilton, CJ Wilson, Anthony Rendon, the list goes on
We should almost have a "A" list and a "B" list....The "B" could people like Vernon Wells, Matt Joyce, Shane Victerino, Raul Ibanez, Justin Upton, Andres Galleraga......guys that were really so done you could cut them with a fork!
Javy Baez's contract with the Tigers is going to be their worst. Kris Bryant's with the Rockies may be the next. It's a real shame the Cubs didn't trade all those guys for huge ransoms the year prior though. Crazy how they could have had 4 players on that team as the worst contracts signed by different teams
not even close...... Tigers have had some REALLY bad signings - Percival & Vina are two recent ones that come to mind.
Victor Martinez. Was good for a second but then the Tigers had a negative WAR when he played. They stuck with him way too long.
@@richwicklund9001 no..... any batter that battles a pitcher the way he did is always good for a team... WAR is WAY overrated as a stat.
The Braves worst signing was Derek Lowe. He was a two-time All-Star, had garnered a third-place finish in Cy Young votes earlier in his career, and was a World Series champion in 2004. The Braves had very high hopes of him playing at that pace. Almost instantly, the Atlanta Braves organization started to regret this signing. Lowe gave up the second-most hits per 9 innings in his career, his highest WHIP of his career, while posting an ERA that was 12% below average (4.67).For the next two years, Lowe never had an ERA+ at or above the league average, and his WHIP and strikeout to walk ratio continued to be an issue.
After posting a 76 ERA+ in 2011, the Braves had enough and ended up trading him to Cleveland to help mitigate some of the payroll damage.
We had Dan Uggla, Bj Upton, and Nate McLouth eating abs in the 2010s and managed to still be competitive. It's mind boggling
Also led the NL in wins one of those years though.
For the D-Backs, it would be tough to argue that the Madison Bumgarner contract wasn’t their worst.
I agree, Madison Bumgarner should be considered the worst for the Diamondbacks. Signed in late 2019, only two full seasons (2021 and 2022) plus the COVID-shortened 2020 season and four games in 2023 before being released. www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bumgama01.shtml#2020-2023-sum:pitching_standard
This just in…Ohtani just signed a ten-year, $700 million contract. THAT is the worst free agent signing in Dodgers’ history. You heard it here first..
If Ohtani when he is able to pitch again can't get back to pre injury form that's not a bad take. If he is only the hitter they could have spent half that money and nearly got the same bat.
😂😂😂
Feeling like you even need to "give Heyward a pass" as the Cubs worst signing ever is a hilariously clown take.
They recouped substantial amount of the money given to Pujjols for the tv contract they were awarded when they signed him.. and for the number of tickets they sold.. remember he achieved some serious records in angels uniform.. and for the record, he was better than average duing the first 4 years of his contract
ryan howard’s extension is probably the worst phillies contract imo, injuries really sapped him of his power and made him a shell of his former self after 2011. i used to see him from time to time at whole foods lol but that was during those dark years
Howard was also an early victim of the mega shifts that Gallo would also fall victim to.
Read the heading. It says worst free agent signing. Howard was never a free agent.
How about Andrew Jones for the Dodgers and Anthony Rendon thus far for the Angels?
You can make a whole episodes about angel signings
As a padres fan I knew eric hosmer would be on here before I even thought to watch this man that one was awful
The brewers have given out a lot bigger contracts than Suppan. Matt Garza, Lorenzo Cain, Kyle lohse, and ryan brauns extension all come to mind.
Correct. My point was it’s not often.
But at the time Suppan signed with our Crew it was the largest in franchise history. Add in what it symbolized for a franchise with a wealth of young talent coming in, it really hurt. Great guy though.
"Soup pitched great". -Ned Yost, after a game in which Suppan did not, in fact, pitch great (which was most of them)
😂😂😂
What about Mike Moustakas or Shogo Akiyama for the Reds
Trevor Bauer was proven innocent of those false allegations and his time in the MLB was screwed because of it. So how can it really be the worst if he didn’t have a chance to fulfill it because of false allegations?
paying someone for 17 starts for 100 million over 3 years is a terrible contract
But how can you say that if he never got the chance to even live up to it.
@@Bigdaddyweese it’s not about performance. It’s about the fact that it ended up being a huge waste of money for the dodgers.
He a rapist
Anthony Rendon was worse than Pujols for the Angels.
Totally agree on Heyward. The Cubs would do that contract again knowing what they know now
For a mariners fan I think Chone Figgins was our worst, bars were giving out beers for the price of his average it was so low
Regardless of Strasburg’s injury history, he’s forever loved in DC. Hopefully he enjoy’s retirement
Absolutely! Nats legend
You're wrong about Trevor Bauer. The worst contract for the Dodgers will always be Andruw Jones. The Dodgers signed a $36.2 million dollar, 2-year contract with him in 2007. That would be a $53.7 million dollar contract in 2023. He showed up in 2008 out of shape and couldn't hit above .200. He injured himself in May but came back in July and still under performed. He was eventually benched, then released at the end of the season. His entire tenure with the Dodgers, he underperformed and had a poor attitude. Afterwards, he blamed the fans for not supporting him.
As to TB, while the Dodgers technically lost a bit more, the signing itself was a good one. He was performing up until his suspension. And, based on what we know, that suspension was not a good one and I'm still baffled why the Dodgers released him. Especially since they needed pitching.
Oh of course the initial signing was great! However, they ended up paying all that $ for pretty much 17 starts 😂 I definitely understand the Andruw Jones contract though.
Ima guess Crawford before I get to the Sox. Or maybe Pablo?
HOW IS BOBBY BONILLA NOT THE METS ONE. He literally inspired LOLMets
Dont forget about Vernon Wells
People forget that Moreno signed Pujols so that he could close a TV deal...if Pujols doesn't sign, Angels don't get that broadcast strikeout
The Angels are so good at getting great players to sign with them just for those great players to forget how to play baseball
So we’re not gonna say anything about Vernon well’s nightmare contract? Lol
Milton Bradley was just downright crazy.
Yes, there aren't a lot of big free agent signings for the Cleveland franchise but I don't think many fans viewed Nick Swisher as that bad a signing. He brought a lot of energy to the team and the fans liked his hustle. His Ohio/Ohio State ties made him kind of a "hometown hero". He had some big hits for some competitive teams. The injuries did make him overpriced, so I do get the choice. Does anybody remember the Wayne Garland deal?
Pujols over Hamilton or what seemingly may end up being the worst, Rendon? not sure about that one. How many tickets did albert sell chasing 500, 600, or hit 3000?
Surprised Wander wasn't on this list for the Ray's. They paid him a ton for him to basically be expelled from MLB
Too soon at this point imo
Don't know if Rusney Castillo of the Boston Red Sox would be considered a "free agent", but his seven-year, $72.5 million contract just to play in the minor leagues is pretty bad
I'd say this one was worse than Sandoval. Castillo only had 73 at-bats in the Majors and was then stashed in Pawtucket so his contract wouldn't count against the luxury tax. Sandoval at least played most of a season.
the angels deserve their own video 😅
The Hamilton contract is the worst Angels contract to date. Rendon will be the worst once it’s all said and done. Dude can’t even stay on the field.
As a NYMets fan I NEVER wanted Bay he was a product of a sm town team (Pirates) & short fence (Sox). Surprised you didn't go with Bobby Bonilla
Pirates you mean.
He had been in three prior organizations before the Pirates: the Expos drafted him in 2000, traded him to the Mets in March 2002 for Lou Collier and then the Mets traded him away at the 2002 deadline to the Padres. Pirates got him and Ollie Perez (lol) from the Padres for Brian Giles.
There’s a few weird early 2000s “throw in” pieces for the Mets that blew up years later. Nelson Cruz was in their system and Jose Bautista was a Met for a few minutes at the 2004 deadline before being traded in the Kris Benson deal
@@nyratk1 yes
Carl Crawford was my Red Sox guess, Pablo not a bad choice either
Jake Arrieta cost himself so much money more than what he signed with its crazy
Or course, Stanton's Yankee deal is horrendous.
🐅 will ever end their rebuild?
Phillies Danny Tartabull fouled a ball off his foot and never played again he just played in 3 games in 97. Gregg Jeffries also a runner up for the Phillies they signed him he couldn't find a position to play here i think was traded to Kansas City and played better .
The Mets not being Bobby Bonilla!?
Haha Hosmer for my padres love it and it’s true.
The way u statistically compared pujols is fair enough. But, angels hired pujols for other reasons. And it worked. Believe it or not. The ohtani situation is totally different. Dodgers want 10 more pennants, and at least 3 world championships. Maybe 4. 😂😂😂😂❤❤❤😊😊
I’m sorry but I have to disagree with the Pujols part. They haven’t had any success 😂 as for the dodgers part, yes 😂😂😂
Jason Heyward was the worst contact in sports history. Unfortunately, the Cubs didn't know that he was bad at baseball.
Phillies phan here. We all HATED Arietta. Feared when he pitched. He was god awful, a HR machine. When he left we legit threw a party in my family and celebrated it.
Al Kaline said 100k was too much. This upset Denny Mclain
Your response when I didn't like you giving the Padres an A+ for trading for Soto:
"I disagree with you that there wasn’t skill involved. So you’re going to tell me that those players they traded didn’t require any scouting or player development? When you have a chance to trade for a once in a generation type of player, you do it. You build up for your farm so those players can either help your own organization, or to use as assets.
It’s good to go against the grain sometimes, but this ain’t it."
Update?
Carl Pavano with the Yankees. Denny Neagle with the Rockies. Teddy Higuera with the Brewers.
I can't think of a single Cubs fan I know that wouldn't put Meltdown Bradley as the worst signing ever. While J-Hey was mostly MIA at the plate, his gold glove and leadership helped steer the Cubs to their 2016 championship. By comparison, Bradley did squat. Cheers....
Madison Bumgarner for Arizona?
Yeah that one is a good one too
Dexter Folwer not only sucked in his final two seasons where Cardinals fans could have see the audition of Adolis Garcia or Randy Arozarena instead, but alas the big brass with the big brains that gets paid millions to make these choices decided trading Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen to get Ozuna and singing Fowler was the better idea?
They say hindsight is 20/20? But for them im sure they dont even see it right...
Been a Cardinals fan for 33 years... this is the first year im Boycotting over trading away any player with personality to go be an all star for another team over "philosophical differences"
10:52 Miami is a small market!? That's news to me.
The Marlins have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball…
@@rhyde well, yeah, that's true, but miami the city is not a small market, it's just the team runs like it is. I've always been under the assumption that saying a team is small market was talking about the market they reside in
@@rhyde sorry mate, meant no offense
Yeah Upton sucked for the Braves.
To add insult to injury, the Yankees used the Swisher compensation pick on Aaron Judge.
I guess you can say that Milton Bradley played too many games.
Mo Vaughn for the Angels
Ryan Howard 2012-2016; a bust in every possible way. It’s unwise to offer any major contract to a player older than 28, but baseball’s archaic way of doing business won’t die easily.
The Yankees got a pick from the Swisher free agent signing by Cleveland. They chose AARON JUDGE. Ouch.
OOF
Rendon might be worse for the Angels
Didn’t want to go with an ongoing contract
@@rhyde makes sense.
At least pujols played a decent amount and put up a few good seasons. Rendon hasn’t done either for his massive contract
True! Didn’t want to do Rendon because it’s still in the deal. I didn’t do Hamilton because they were on the hook for a lot more money and years than Hamilton.
Should’ve used Carl Crawford for the Red Sox
An honorable mention for the orioles was when they signed sammy sosa i was so excited as a kid when they signed him and he was awful 😢
Technically not a signing. That was a trade.
@@zlinedavid it was all a blur to me from how depressing it was i musta forgot 😂
Mad Bum should he on the AZ list..
Ooooooo yeah that’s a good one
I always thought Pat Burrell was the rays worst free agent signing
As a Reds fan I completely forgot about Eric Milton but I would put Mike Moustakas up there with him. I don’t even think he played a full year on the 4yr/65 million contract. To my knowledge he didn’t even hit .260 and or even hit 15 homers.
As a Brewers fan we dodged that bullet, thank you Reds.
The Royals should have let Alex Gordon go after winning the World Series. He was past his prime by then.
Cardinals Brett Cecil contract was terrible. 30 million 4 years no trade clause. played 2 years, one of which he had a 6.89 era. the next two years he was hurt, and then was healing and then got hurt again. then retired.