Big money contracts rule the offseason and rumor circuit, which is why Ben Nicholson-Smith recently recapped the 20 biggest free agent deals of the offseason. Three players signed for $100MM+, four others signed for $50MM+, and five others signed for $30MM+. Not everyone is that lucky though.
As MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows, a total of 15 players have signed guaranteed one-year contracts worth less than a million bucks this winter. That does not include minor league contracts, incentives, or option years. As Spring Training draws closer, you can expect to see more players added to this pool. Here's a list of those 15 players, sorted by highest contract value to lowest…
- Dustin Moseley: $900K with the Padres.
- Joel Peralta: $900K with the Rays.
- Fred Lewis: $900K with the Reds.
- Matt Albers: $880K with the Red Sox.
- Matt Treanor: $850K with the Rangers.
- Jorge Cantu: $850K with the Padres.
- Wil Nieves: $775K with the Brewers.
- Brian Tallet: $750K with the Cardinals.
- Ryan Rowland-Smith: $720K with the Astros.
- Justin Duchscherer: $700K with the Orioles.
- Nick Punto: $700K with the Cardinals.
- Tony Gwynn Jr.: $675K with the Dodgers.
- Jay Gibbons: $650K with the Dodgers.
- Taylor Buchholz: $600K with the Mets.
- Scott Olsen: $500K with the Pirates.
All but Treanor, Cantu, Punto, Duchscherer, and Gibbons were non-tendered. Moseley, Albers, Nieves, Rowland-Smith, Gwynn, and Buchholz all remain under team control beyond 2011 as arbitration-eligible players.
Must suck to *only* get paid $500k to play ball for a living and have the winter off.
Yah, I have my summers off, being a teacher but its going to take a couple years to even come close to making what Olsen does minus a zero….damn.
doesn’t a lot of the money go to the agent/agencies
usually an agent only gets between 1 and 3 percent of the value of a contract. They make the big money from the marketing/sponsorship deals they work out.
I sure wish I had to “settle” for $500K
Really, I’d prefer the pittance I make compared to having to settle for half a million a year to play the game I love.
Your forgetting Chris Denorfia (Padres) signed for $800,000
He wasn’t a free agent, he was under team control and that contract avoided arbitration.
Ahhh, I did not see it was only free agents. Makes sense, thanks for the update.
Justin Duchscherer was a great deal for the pirates if healthy!
Or if the Pirates signed him….
Isn’t he a great deal for the Pirates if he’s not healthy?
there are actually a couple good players on that list… seeing good players making next to nothing (comparatively) makes me wonder how one manages to trade vernon wells and his whole contract…
500k is next to nothing.
exactly
Makes perfect sense
Dennys Reyes
Minor league deal.
A few decent pick-ups here for relatively low cost….
I like Lewis to Cin..may end up being a key contributor, and solid insurance as an everyday guy if someone goes down.
Cantu is a bargain…yes he had a bad year last year, but he’s proven he can hit NL pitching and can play more than one position. Being in SD may not be great for his overall numbers, but I see him playing well enough to get a sizable raise next year.
The Orioles are actually looking pretty decent this year…at least on offense. If Duschscherer is healthy and can boost the staff, they may make a run at a wild-card.
I also like Punto in STL. Kinda guy Larussa can really take advantage of…and with 3b still an open position he could be a decent every day guy.
The rest of the players on that list are in the final year or two of their career.
I thought all one year contracts were non-guaranteed? Am i wrong?