In today’s video, Jeff Todd explores the MLB free agent deals that have absolutely floored the MLBTR writing staff. Stick around until the end to see which one stunned us the most!
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So much better than Lugooooooo… Scu Scu Scutaro!!!!
Jordan Zimmerman? Eric Hosmer? Bryan Shaw?
Big money was on all thoughts on hosmer it just depended on who got him
Zimmermann actually got less than what was predicted and I think Hosmer might have as well.
Jordan Lyles surprised me this off-season. Yu Darvish even surprised me a little bit when he signed.
Darvish’s contract was odd because free agency has transitioned to “Unless you are the elite of the elite, you aren’t going to command what you may have 10-15 years ago.”
Too many examples of nine-figure deals going south the more a pitcher creeps into their 30’s. Teams just aren’t as willing to shell out money unless there’s a Gerrit Cole on the market.
Stephen Drew’s $9.5 million from the Red Sox in 2013 after posting a .657 OPS and 81 OPS+. 2011 wasn’t all that much better.
Oh I got another one, Zack Cozart’s contract with the Angels after his one good season.
For sure – I was on my down to comment the same thing. Coming off his 2017 season, I could kind of see a team over spending a little if he were 28 and a team needed a SS…..but he was 32 and the Angels already had Simmons.
Bobby Bonilla turning 5.8M into 29.8M
Ughhhh
Bonilla’s agent should be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the builders wing.
Jacoby Ellsbury’s Yankees contract? He had injury issues as a Red Sox and 2011 was his only year he was a superstar.
That one was my favorite.
I’m honestly surprised that it wasn’t even mentioned in this video.
Peter O’Brien and his rave reviews
How is Miguel Cabrera not number one on the list? His extension was way before necessary and way more money and years than expected.
Because he’s awesome.
Was*
Because jeff was looking at free agent deals not extensions
Funny.. every article I read says moustakas was signed to about what he was estimated to be worth .. quick google search on his contract shows that.
FART
Well then…
MLBTR is bewildered about Moustakas’ contract because they missed it so badly. It’s likely to be 1 season too long to be worth 16M per but most teams allow for that. Moose is one of those no nonsense guys who brings more to a team than smartphone stat geeks understand.
Every article? You wanna post a link to verify your claim?
Gary Mathews Jr
Yasmany Tomas.. 6 Yr 68 million.
That was actually a discount at the time bcuz he wanted the opt out
Martin Prado..
You drilled it. Prado’s $40m was utterly inexplicable.
Nathan Eovaldi’s contract with Boston was outlandish as well.
I don’t recall whether anybody saw it coming or not but Carl Pavano had exactly one good year (18-8, 3.00 ERA) and parlayed that into a 4 yr/40MM contract with the Yankees in 2004. He was injured most of the time and finished 9-8 over the 4 year life of the deal.
Oliver Perez- 3yrs/$36M..
Pomeranz. Highest paid lefty specialist ever, then Manfred devalues lefty specialists the next day.
Didn’t you see Pomeranz dominate in Milwaukee?
You mean in the 26.1 IP down the stretch? I know he was good but that’s a very small sample size to go off of to dish out a 4yr/$32MM deal. Heck most relievers never sniff a four year deal unless they are proven elite closers over multiple seasons.
San Diego had Pomeranz before and knew what they were getting. He pitched pretty well there and it is a pitcher friendly park, but still way over paid.
Jason bay to the Mets
Pavano to yanks
Samardjza (spelling) and zito to giants
Just a few I can think of right away.
Bay’s contract was not unexpected. He had an MVP caliber year in Boston and was an A.S. in Pittsburgh. His demise however was unexpected – but not the contract.
Zack Wheeler to the Phils for 120 mil/5
How
Wheeler is not as good or durable as Porcello. And yet that contract… Wheeler’s contract will be the next Zimmerman contract and be an absolute 100 million dollar waste.
In that market for SP’s, when he was #3 among available SP’s, can’t see that. Of course he was going to get a big payday. Of course.
He was #3 by a very wide margin from #2 and not very far ahead of whomever you would consider to be #4.
Rusney Castillo
Chris Sale’s extension with Sox?
Sale is looking like a bad decision in the short term, BUT, wasn’t unexpected at the time. Question was would boston pay him or someone else.
Homer Bailey?
Bailey was fine. His contract was around what pitchers of his caliber were getting. He was trending upward and hadn’t had any injury issues in the years prior. You can’t predict injuries.
People act like the reds have a 30 plus year old coming off multiple lost seasons that contract.
Yes it was a bad deal once it played out but it wasn’t at the time it was signed.
Now ryan Howard or the second Cabrera contract those had very little chance of being good.
Some of the worst luck the reds could have gotten. It might not have been a bad contract at the time, but if (at the time) the reds weren’t trying to play the conservative route they should have resigned Cueto.
Bailey was a huge shock. He was going to get paid. Not THAT much.
A-Rod’s free agent deal with the Rangers? Sure, that first deal (up until he opted out) was actually worth it, and his later extension with the Yankees was objectively much more ridiculous, but I don’t think anyone at the time expected A-Rod to get such a huge record-breaking (by such an order of magnitude) deal in free agency, whereas it was largely expected that the Yankees would break the bank in order to keep him.
How was Arods first contract a “big money deal no one saw coming”? Literally everyone knew a huge deal was coming, several years in advance. Speculation of breaking the $200M barrier was not uncommon.
A huge deal, yes, perhaps even $200M+, but nobody expected him to get anywhere near $252M.
Jason Heyward? Even if his offense hadn’t declined, he had had only one exceptional offensive year, and a glove-first right fielder was never going to be worth as much as he got.
But he had youth and two other teams offered just as much. Bad contract no doubt but I wasn’t shocked in the least
Kei Igawa
Giancarlo Stanton or Harper
I saw moose getting big money, just nowhere over the 64mil he got.
With a move to 2B permanently on-top of that.
The Reds hope Moose can be what Jason Werth was to the Nats, a vet who teaches all the kids to prepare like pros and expect to win. I saw it coming but hoped the Padres would have pulled it off.
ian desmond.
I think Desmond was going to get big $$. People forget he apparently declined 7 years/$107-mil with Washington.
The more surprising part was signing him to play 1B.
Heyward. Bad signing at the time. Worst contract in history.
Chris Davis says hi.
Heyward signing not even close to worst contract
The Yankees giving $80+ million to AJ Burnett was always a huge head scratcher to me.
That happened. They gave AJ Burnett $80 million smackers.
Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Rameriz were considered bad deals at the time and turned out even worse than imaginable