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Stephen Strasburg retired, Patrick Corbin’s deal with the Washington Nationals finally expired and Chris Sale roared back to form in a major way.
That means there are changes to the annual rankings of MLB’s worst contracts. With Black Friday deals in the past and baseball’s hot stove on the verge of heating up, risk-averse executives often point to the league’s underwater contracts as justification for trusting internal development or otherwise standing pat with mediocre rosters.
Castellanos was fresh off the best season of his career when the Phillies signed him in March 2022. In the three years since, Castellanos’ time with the Phillies has provided doses of nearly every emotion. Frustrations have been offset by heroic moments, colorful quotes, and charming shots of Castellanos celebrating with his son.
Rodón’s big-money deal looked like a disaster after he posted a 6.85 ERA in 2023, his first year in the Bronx. Rodón made small steps toward redemption this past season, throwing 175 innings with a 3.96 ERA and averaging 10 K/9. Although Rodón was much improved from that disastrous 2023, he has a long way to go to live up to the high AAV the Yankees will pay him for four more seasons.
Bogaerts was worth only 1.7 fWAR this past season and lasted only 3 1/3 innings in his lone World Series outing. The good news is that Rodón had a 2.91 ERA in the second half and saw his strikeout numbers return to near-elite levels after the All-Star break. However, the 31 home runs Rodón surrendered in 2024 tied for the second-highest total in the majors.
The Story contract still looks good in comparison with Báez. The two shortstops signed for identical amounts in the 2021-22 offseason. Báez has played far more games (360), which has only elevated the reasons for dismay. Over the past two years, Báez’s 56 wRC+ is the fourth worst among players to receive at least 500 plate appearances. Although he’s still capable of magical plays in the field, he was worth minus-4 defensive runs saved and minus-1 outs above average in 2024.
Kris Bryant has produced -1.4 fWAR in three seasons with the Rockies. The third baseman who won an MVP at 24 has played only 159 games over three seasons with the Rockies. His performance at the plate has declined in each of those three seasons. A negative WAR player over the past two years, Bryant has battled plantar fasciitis and multiple back issues. Now dealing with severe arthritis, Bryant has indicated he hasn’t had any thoughts of retirement. At the same time, he’s well aware of how rough the situation has become.
The good news here: There are only two seasons left. But even though there are longer deals worth more money, no one is getting less bang for their buck than the Angels for Anthony Rendon. The third baseman who was among the toasts of the 2019-20 free-agent class has never played more than 58 games in a season for the Angels. This past season he hit a grand total of zero home runs in 206 at-bats. FanGraphs had him as a negative WAR player for the first time in his career.
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